A new study has reported that aged garlic extract has protective effects against doxorubicin-induced heart damage in male rats. Doxorubicin (Adriamycin), a highly active chemotherapy agent often used to treat breast cancer and other malignancies, can cause severe cardiotoxic side effects associated with increased oxidative stress and heart muscle cell death. In the study, rats pretreated with aged garlic extract (250 mg/kg) for 27 days before being administered doxorubicin were found to have reduced activity and production of compounds associated with heart damage. Total antioxidant activity was also found to increase as a result of aged garlic extract administration. Examination of rat heart tissue showed that doxorubicin resulted in detrimental cardiac tissue structure changes. Pretreatment with aged garlic extract reduced these effects; the cardiomyocytes appeared more or less similar to cardiac tissue of control rats that had not received doxorubicin. However, vascular dilatation, mild congestion and interstitial edemas were still found in the aged garlic plus doxorubicin treated rats. The authors conclude that aged garlic extract may be protective against doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity.

Note that garlic has been found to enhance the pharmacological effect of anticoagulants such as Warfarin, and to reduce the efficacy of certain anti-AIDS drugs such as saquinavir.