Pharmactive’s aged black garlic extract may relieve hypertension, clinical trial shows

09 Oct 2023 --- A new clinical study shows that the aged black garlic Pharmactive Biotech Products ABG10+ positively impacts the blood pressure of patients with grade-1 hypertension receiving prescribed drug treatment.

“ABG10+ has proven its efficacy in clinical trials, with doses up to 60% lower than those of other commercial fresh or aged garlic products,” Alberto Espinel, open innovation director at Pharmactive, tells Nutrition Insight.

Aged black garlic refers to a complete raw garlic bulb (Allium sativum L) that has been carefully aged at specific temperatures for a designated duration. Pharmactive says their aging technique enhances the buildup of the garlic’s bioactive blend of antioxidants, such as polyphenols, flavonoids and melanoidins, notably S-allyl cysteine (SAC).

White garlic is transformed into aged black garlic through this process. 

“This involves the transformation of certain active ingredients, which are unstable and have low antioxidant power (allicin and fructans), into new ones that are much more stable, with high antioxidant power and high bioavailability (such as SAC and melanoidins).”

The study 
The research findings on the ABG10+, published in the scientific journal Nutrients, are from a randomized, triple-blind controlled trial conducted at the Hospital Universitari Arnau de Vilanova in Lleida, Spain, in collaboration with the atherothrombotic disease detection and treatment unit (UDETMA).

Over the course of 12 weeks, participants were administered a 250 mg daily dose of ABG10+, providing 0.25 mg of a placebo. No alterations were made to the participants’ diet, lifestyle or blood pressure medication. 

Their diet, lifestyle and blood pressure medication remained unchanged. Subjects monitored their blood pressure at home daily and specialists recorded measurements at the study’s start and end. The introduction of ABG10+ supplements significantly improved blood pressure management among the participants in the study. 

The introduction of ABG10+ supplementation significantly improved blood pressure management, resulting in reductions of 1.8 mmHg in systolic and 1.5 mmHg in diastolic blood pressure.

Blood serum tests indicated that supplementing with ABG10+ might enhance nitric oxide release and elevate the body’s antioxidant capability. There appeared to be a decrease in ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) activity and lower levels of blood uric acid.

The results
Espinel explains that most volunteers who participated in the study had an average medical history of high blood pressure spanning 15 years. 

Prior to the study, the patients were unable to sustain normal range blood pressure despite following a medically prescribed pharmacological routine. 

“This study suggests that incorporating food bioactives such as aged black garlic extract into the treatment regimen could serve as a valuable complement to conventional drug therapy and could contribute to reduced cardiovascular risk,” he says. 

“Such intervention could be especially beneficial for managing arterial high blood pressure in persons experiencing resistance to drug therapy — all without inducing side effects,” Espinel adds.

Hypertension is a primary risk factor for cardiovascular conditions like stroke and heart failure. Studies have shown that even slight decreases in blood pressure can significantly lower the risk of these events.

For example, even a two mmHg reduction in systolic blood pressure can decrease the likelihood of stroke by 10% in middle-aged individuals.Hypertension stands as a primary risk factor for cardiovascular conditions like stroke and heart failure.

Different active ingredients 
Espinel further tells us that one key reason for the optimistic findings is the active ingredients found in ABG10+, which are uniquely different from those found in the much more widespread formulation that uses white garlic. 

He points out that among similar products that incorporate aged black garlic, many include garlic that uses lactic ferments to carry out the aging process.

“These processes can result in products of heterogeneous quality that differ between production batches. ABG10+, thanks to our unique aging process, is a tremendously homogeneous ingredient in composition.”

Another aspect of the production process that impacts the product’s properties is that the raw material for ABG10+ is harvested in the Las Pedroñeras, Castilla La Mancha region of Spain, renowned for the quality of its garlic.

In 2022, Pharmactive introduced a novel form of its black garlic extract product ABG+, suitable for use in gummies, liquids, coarse powder, gel and bars. 

By Milana Nikolova