Alho (Allium Sativum L.) e suas propriedades funcionais no controle da dislipidemia: uma revisão da literatura.

Abstract

Dyslipidemia is characterized by metabolic alterations in the lipid profile, which leads to an increase in serum levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), in addition to a decrease in high-density lipoprotein (HDL). These changes are associated with an increased risk for coronary heart disease. One of the treatments includes changing eating habits, excluding sources of saturated and trans fat, in addition to including foods that can contribute to improving this pathology. Foods considered to have functional property claims can play an important role in these cases, acting in the control and improvement of this pathology. Garlic is considered a functional food due to the presence of compounds that, according to the evidence, play beneficial activities for the prevention/control of different pathologies. The present work aims to analyze the literature and identify, through a literature review, the functional properties of Garlic in the control of dyslipidemia. The articles were selected between February and March 2022, through an automatic literature search, through databases such as: Google Scholar, Scientific Electronic Library Online (Scielo), PubMED, Elsevier, Virtual Health Library (BVS), using the search engines: Alho, Allium Sativum L and dyslipidemia, in Portuguese, English and Spanish with a date of the last 5 years (2018-2022). Sixteen works were selected, 12 with rodents and 4 with humans. Studies with dyslipidemic animals, despite the different forms of administration and amounts, showed improvement in almost all evaluated markers, the same was contemplated in human studies, with the exception of one study that did not demonstrate significant improvement with supplementation. The authors attributed the beneficial effects in the control of dyslipidemia to the organosulfur compounds present in garlic, mainly allicin that acts in the synthesis of cholesterol. Thus, garlic demonstrated the presence of functional properties in the control of dyslipidemia in almost all studies, however, more trials in humans should be carried out, standardizing an administration format and quantity.