Garlic may help protect against osteoarthritis

A diet high in allium vegetables, such as
garlic, onions and leeks, may help lower the
risk osteoarthritis, according to new
research from King’s College London.
The study, published in the BMC
Musculoskeletal Disorders, highlighted the
possible effects of diet in protecting against
osteoarthritis and suggested a potential for
using specific beneficial compounds found
in garlic to develop treatments for the
condition.
“Osteoarthritis is a major health issue and
this exciting study shows the potential for
diet to influence the course of the disease.
With further work to confirm and extend
these early findings, this may open up the
possibility of using diet or dietary
supplements in the future treatment
osteoarthritis,” said Professor Ian Clark,
from the University of East Anglia, a co-
author of the study.
Osteoarthritis is the most common disabling
joint condition affecting elderly adults, and
has a significant impact on adults of
working age. Several predisposing genetic
variants have been discovered and
environmental risk factors that have been
identified include an influence of body
mass index (BMI).
“A role for micronutrients in both the
incidence and progression of osteoarthritis,
particularly at the cartilage level. Reactive
oxygen species have been shown to
influence both normal chondrocyte activity
and cartilage damage so an important role
for antioxidants is widely postulated,” said
the researchers, led by Dr Frances Williams
from King’s College London.
However, they said that the effects of
individual dietary micronutrients in vivo,
remains uncertain.
Results from the Framingham study
suggested a protective effect of vitamin D
on progression of knee osteoarthritis as
well as protective effects of vitamin C, beta
carotene and vitamin E.
Rather than attempt to look at individual
nutrients, the new study investigated the
patterns of food intake in relation to
prevalence of osteoarthritis of the hand,
hip, and knee, in a large volunteer cohort of
over 1,000 healthy female twins using the
food frequency questionnaire.
Trends in dietary analysis revealed a
specific pattern of dietary intake, high in
fruit and vegetables, showed a statistically
significant inverse association with hip
osteoarthritis.
The researchers reported that consumption
of non-citrus fruit and alliums - such as
garlic - had the strongest protective effect.
Williams and colleagues noted that diallyl
disulphide - a compound found in garlic and
other alliums -has been shown to repress
the expression of degrading enzymes that
are linked with osteoarthritis -providing a
potential mechanism of action for the
observed effect.
“While we don’t yet know if eating garlic
will lead to high levels of this component in
the joint, these findings may point the way
towards future treatments and prevention
of hip osteoarthritis,” said Dr Williams.
The researchers added that if such results
are confirmed by independent replication,
then dietary intervention trials would be “a
reasonable next step.”