Garlic to be tested on diabetics

Better Nutrition, July, 2004

Two researchers, both post-graduates of Manchester Metropolitan University in England, have previously found that aged garlic extract may block--in "in vitro" experiments that don't involve live test subjects--a process that can damage eyes and kidneys in diabetics. But now, the two scientists intend to test aged garlic extract in a clinical study involving 50 subjects who have type 2 diabetes.

The study will be carried out at a Saudi Arabian hospital where diabetics will take aged garlic extract in liquid form for 3 months.

Molecular biologist Nessar Ahmed has been trying to understand why sugars damage the body, and he has a particular interest in natural products and their therapeutic benefits.

Garlic's general health benefits and antioxidant properties have been promoted for centuries. But Ahmed hopes to discover whether aged garlic extract can be used to treat a specific illness.