This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on Web of Science (8)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related article  • Similar articles in JAMA  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

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]

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

RELATED ARTICLE

Effect of a Garlic Oil Preparation on Serum Lipoproteins and Cholesterol Metabolism: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Heiner K. Berthold, Thomas Sudhop, and Klaus von Bergmann
JAMA. 1998;279(23):1900-1902.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Evaluating Complementary and Alternative Medicine: The Limits of Science and of Scientists
Hufford
J Law Med Ethics 2003;31:198-212.
 

The Internet for Medical Information About Cancer: Help or Hindrance?
Matthews et al.
Psychosomatics 2003;44:100-103.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Herbal Medicines Today and the Roots of Modern Pharmacology
Goldman
ANN INTERN MED 2001;135:594-600.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Garlic for Total Cholesterol Reduction
Lawson
ANN INTERN MED 2001;135:65-66.
FULL TEXT