Wild garlic has a greater effect than regular garlic on blood pressure and blood chemistries of rats.

When groups of 10 Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHR) were fed diets containing either 1% w/w regular garlic (Allium sativum) (AS) or 1% w/w wild garlic (Allium ursinum) (AU) for 45 days, the final mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) was reduced significantly compared to control (C) (C 189; AS 175; Au 173 mm Hg). Compared to C, body weight and circulating glucose and triglyceride levels were not significantly different; but circulating insulin was significantly higher (C 23.6; AS 33.9; AU 29.5 uIU/dl), and total cholesterol was significantly lower (C 133; AS 115; AU 117 mg/dl) in the two groups consuming AS or AU. HDL rose in the two garlic groups, but the differences from C were statistically significant only for the AU group. In a second study, the effects of a lower dose of dietary AS and AU (0.1% w/w) on SBP and various blood chemistries were compared head-to-head in 80 SHR-40 control and 40 test rats. Both AS and AU decreased SBP significantly compared to a control group of 10 SHR followed simultaneously. However, AU at this lower concentration produced a significantly greater SBP-lowering effect compared to the AS group. In addition, AU decreased total cholesterol significantly and tended to increase HDL compared to AS. Accordingly, the results suggest that AU has a greater therapeutic benefit compared to AS at a given concentration.

Effects of wild versus cultivated garlic on blood pressure and other parameters in hypertensive rats.

Two separate studies were performed on hypertensive rats to assess the effects of wild, uncultivated garlic on elevated systolic blood pressure (SBP) and other cardiovascular parameters. Also, effects of wild garlic and cultivated garlic preparations were compared and the mechanisms behind pressure-lowering abilities of different garlic preparations were examined. The initial study determined that wild garlic lowers blood pressure. In the second study, cardiovascular effects of three different concentrations of wild garlic and two different cultivated garlics, i.e., a preparation low in allicin and one high in allicin, were compared. All three garlic preparations decreased SBP significantly. Wild garlic produced the greatest pressure-lowering effects, and the least pressure-lowering effects were seen with low-allicin garlic. Compared with control rats, circulating angiotensin II levels were significantly lower in all garlic-eating rats. Losartan decreased blood pressure significantly less and Nw-nitro-L arginine-methyl ester hydrochloride (LNAME) increased blood pressure significantly more in garlic-eating rats than in control rats, suggesting that the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) was less active and the nitric oxide system more active in garlic-consuming hypertensive rats. Accordingly, different garlic preparations, especially wild garlic, favorably influenced high SBP in hypertensive rats. These results suggest that both the RAS and the nitric oxide system are involved in the antihypertensive effects of garlic in hypertensive rats.