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To the Editor.— The negative results from the clinical trial by Dr Berthold and colleagues¹ investigating the cholesterol-lowering effect of a garlic oil product is a good example of a well-designed study that used a poor product and made an exaggerated conclusion. The authors concluded, "Garlic therapy for treatment of hypercholesterolemia cannot be recommended on the basis of this study." However, all that the authors are justified in concluding is that therapy with a steam-distilled garlic oil bound to beta cyclodextrin at a dose of 10 mg cannot be recommended.

Garlic oil is not the same as garlic. Ironically, garlic oil is not even present in garlic, but is a commercial product that is formed when the water-soluble thiosulfinates (75% allicin) of crushed garlic are transformed by steam distillation to oil-soluble allyl sulfides. The allyl sulfides may not be as active as the thiosulfinates, as shown in vitro in antimicrobial . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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