Garlic oil can protect against diabetic cardiomyopathy, a form of heart disease in people with diabetes, reveals a novel study.

Garlic has an enormous potential to prevent cardiomyopathy, which is a leading cause of death amongst diabetics.

It works by controlling the abnormally high sugar levels that occur during diabetes on a common basis.

The study, conducted by researchers from Taiwan, took the help of a few diabetic laboratory rats for the research.

The rats were fed either garlic oil or corn oil by the researchers. They were then observed to see which oil led to better prevention of cardiomyopathy.

Results of the study
The rats that were given garlic oil experienced beneficial changes associated with protection against heart damage, the study revealed.

Diabetic rats showed significantly decreased levels of myosin heavy chains, key contractile proteins in the heart, which were dose dependently attenuated by garlic oil.

The garlic oil rich diet had reduced the cardiovascular complications in the rats that had consumed it compared to the ones who had been given corn oil.

Garlic oil rich diet was also reported to reverse the effects of diabetes on cardiac [pertaining to the heart.] output and the heart's pumping capacity in a dose dependent manner.

Overall, diabetes related cardiac dysfunctions in the rats were dose-dependently relieved with garlic oil.

The changes found in the rats were related to the antioxidant properties of the oil, the researchers found.

20 contributing substances found in oil
On analysis, almost 20 substances that may contribute to this protective effect were found in garlic oil.

"Our results show that garlic oil supplementation for diabetic rats leads to several alterations at multiple levels in hearts including cardiac contractile functions and structures, myosin chain gene expressions, oxidative stress, and apoptosis and related signaling activities," wrote the researchers, led by Wei-Wen Kuo from the China Medical University in Taiwan.

"In conclusion, garlic oil possesses significant potential for protecting hearts from diabetes-induced cardiomyopathy," the study authors said in a statement.

In addition, garlic (Allium sativum) has been found to exhibit several health benefits, including inhibiting enzymes involved in lipid synthesis, decreasing platelet aggregation, preventing lipid peroxidation, and increasing antioxidant status.