Anti-inflammatory Properties of Black Garlic

What Is Black Garlic?

Black garlic is garlic that was aged in a specific environment. Regular garlic is fermented in low heat (60–90°C or 140-194°F) and high humidity (70–90%) for an extended period of time to produce black garlic. Such conditions change the chemical composition of the garlic (due to the Maillard reaction), resulting in its black color, sweet taste, and soft texture. In addition, black garlic has a higher content of antioxidants than regular garlic and, therefore, offers more health benefits.

Black garlic can be consumed in various ways due to its pleasant taste. Black garlic can be eaten by itself, sliced and included in salads or pasta dishes, spread on toast, blended with olive oil to make a salad dressing, mashed into a cheese spread, or taken as a supplement.

Anti-inflammatory Properties Of Black Garlic

Several studies demonstrated the anti-inflammatory effect of black garlic that can be used to prevent or treat inflammation-related diseases. One research conducted in cell cultures identified that aged garlic decreased the production of pro-inflammatory markers in a concentration-dependent manner (the more black garlic, the more reduction in pro-inflammatory markers). In addition, black garlic demonstrated the ability to increase heme oxygenase-1 protein expression significantly. This protein plays a critical role in the prevention of vascular inflammation. Overall, this study investigated the potential ability of black garlic to both the prevention and improvement of inflammatory diseases.

Another study compared the anti-inflammatory effect of black garlic with raw garlic. According to the results, aged black garlic may be a safer and more effective agent for treating or preventing inflammation-related diseases, compared to raw garlic.

However, there are no human studies on the anti-inflammatory black garlic effect. Clinical studies are required to confirm the potential of black garlic to decrease inflammation.

Are Black Garlic Supplements Safe To Take?

Even though black garlic supplements are generally considered safe to take, there are some precautions that you need to be mindful of. For example, the following people should avoid taking black garlic and its supplements:

• People with low blood pressure
• Patients taking blood-thinning medications
• People with an allergic reaction to garlic
• people with an allergic reaction to other components of black garlic supplements
• Patients before/after surgery or those with chronic bleeding disease

In addition, certain groups of people should practice caution when taking black garlic supplements. They should take them only in small amounts and necessarily talk to their healthcare provider before starting the course of the supplements. Such people include:

• Children
• Pregnant and breastfeeding women
• Diabetic patients
• People with digestive issues

Since black garlic has the potential to interact with certain drugs and change their effectiveness, people taking any medications should talk to a physician before taking black garlic or black garlic supplements.

Conclusion

Due to its high antioxidant content, black garlic provides numerous health benefits, such as protecting the heart, brain, and liver, antioxidation, controlling blood sugar levels, lowering blood pressure, etc. As studies showed, black garlic can also potentially prevent and improve inflammatory-dependent diseases due to its ability to reduce inflammation. However, further clinical research is needed to establish the effects of black garlic on chronic inflammation and human health in general. Therefore, you should consult your healthcare provider before starting a black garlic supplement course.