Effect of Different Garlic Preparations on Testosterone, Thyroid Hormones, and Some Serum Trace Elements in Rats

Garlic is a house-available vegetable which is widely used for its spicy and medicinal benefits. Impact of different preparations on testosterone, thyroid hormones, and blood micro and trace elements were studied. Eight groups of male albino rats were selected including control group and other seven groups administered different doses of different garlic preparations by oral gavages for 1 month. At the end of the experiment, blood samples were collected for determination of serum hormones by radioimmunoassay, serum micro and trace elements by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), and testes tissues for histological examination. All treated groups with different garlic preparations revealed a highly significant decrease of testosterone level in rats as compared to control which confirmed with histological changes. Increase of thyroid hormones in some groups was seen. Hypokalemia and hypernatremia effect was recorded due to garlic treatments. Calcium, magnesium, selenium, zinc, manganese, iron, cadmium, lead, silicon, molybdenum, germanium, barium, boron, niobium, and aluminum levels showed alterations in different preparations groups. On the other hand, insignificant changes of strontium, chromium, cesium, and the nickel serum levels were noted. Interestingly, although all garlic preparations have negative effects on serum testosterone level and testicular tissues, some garlic preparations have different effects on blood elements. Consequently, it infers that the usage of different garlic preparations must abide benefit/risk assessment to avoid unexpected health issues.