A diet rich in allium containing vegetables, such as garlic, onions, and leeks can help treat painful osteoarthritis, according to a new research, carried out by researchers at King's College London and the University of East Anglia.
Findings of the new study sheds light on the possible effects of allium-rich diet in protecting against hip osteoarthritis, but also show the potential for using compounds found in garlic to develop treatments for the condition, which until now is limited to painkillers and hip replacement surgery.
Garlic benefits to fight osteoarthritis
In their study, team of U.K. researchers discovered that women who consume diet rich in garlic, onions and leeks are less likely to develop osteoarthritis in hip joints.
They found that diallyl disulphide, an organosulfur compound found in plants of the genus Allium, limits the amount of cartilage-damaging enzymes.
Study details
To reach their findings, Dr Frances Williams, of the Department of Twin Research at King’s College London, and colleagues studied more than 1,000 healthy female twins, many of whom had no symptoms of arthritis.
They then assessed the diet patterns of the participants and analyzed these alongside X-ray images, which captured the extent of early osteoarthritis in their hips, knees, and spine.
Study findings
The research team found that in those who consumed a healthy diet with a high intake of fruit and vegetables, particularly a diet high in alliums like garlic, reported less evidence of early osteoarthritis in the hip joint.
To determine the potential protective effect of alliums further, the researchers looked closely at allium compounds in garlic, isolating a compound called diallyl disulphide that they say limited the amount of cartilage-damaging enzymes when introduced to a human cartilage cell-line in the laboratory.
According to University of East Anglia’s website, Professor Ian Clark, of the University of East Anglia’s School of Biological Sciences, said, “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.”
Hopes high for future treatment
The study authors are not yet sure if eating garlic-rich diet would lead to enough diallyl disulphide in the joints to keep arthritis at bay. But they still hope their findings would help develop treatment for hip osteoporosis, which is the most common form of arthritis in adults, and is currently limited to painkillers and hip replacement surgery.
"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," University of East Anglia reported Williams as saying on its website.
“It has been known for a long time that there is a link between body weight and osteoarthritis. Many researchers have tried to find dietary components influencing the condition, but this is the first large scale study of diet in twins.
"If our results are confirmed by follow-up studies, this will point the way towards dietary intervention or targeted drug therapy for people with osteoarthritis,” he stated.
Funded by Arthritis Research UK, the Wellcome Trust and Dunhill Medical Trust, the study is published in the 'BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders' journal.