The effects of garlic supplementation on weight loss: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Author(s):  
Manije Darooghegi Mofrad ◽  
Jamal Rahmani ◽  
Hamed Kord Varkaneh ◽  
Alireza Teymouri ◽  
Seyed Mohammad Mousavi

Abstract. Obesity is related to increase in the incidence of morbidity and mortality. Studies have suggested anti-obesity properties of garlic; however, results are inconsistent. This systematic review and meta-analysis is done to summarize the data obtained from available randomized clinical trials on the effect of garlic supplementation on body weight, Body Mass Index (BMI), and Waist Circumference (WC). The online databases of Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar and Cochrane library were searched until March 2018 for related publications using relevant keywords. Effect sizes of eligible studies were pooled using random-effects models. Cochran’s Q-test and I2 index were used for assessing heterogeneity. We found 1241 records in our initial search, of which 13 randomized clinical trials (RCTs) with 15 treatment arms were included. Pooled analysis showed that garlic administration might significantly decrease WC (Weighed Mean Difference (WMD): −1.10 cm, 95% CI: −2.13, −0.07, P = 0.03, I2 = 0%). However, garlic intervention had no significant effect on body weight (WMD): −0.17 kg, 95% CI: −0.75 to 0.39, P = 0.54, I2 = 0%) and BMI (WMD: −0.17 kg/m2, 95% CI: −0.52, 0.16, P = 0.30, I2 = 44.5%) as compared to controls. From Subgroup analysis, it was ascertained that the effect of garlic supplementation on BMI was significant in trials with duration < 12 weeks (WMD: −0.58 kg/m2, 95% CI: −1.08, −0.08, I2 = 19.8%, P = 0.02) compared to those with higher duration (>12 weeks). The current meta-analysis results suggest that garlic supplementation seems to reduce waist circumference unlike body weight and BMI.

Author(s):  
Seyed Mohammad Mousavi ◽  
Alireza Milajerdi ◽  
Somaye Fatahi ◽  
Jamal Rahmani ◽  
Meysam Zarezadeh ◽  
...  

Abstract. The clinical studies regarding the effect of L-arginine in human anthropometry have not been fully consistent, therefore, we carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials in order to precisely evaluate and quantify the efficacy of L-arginine on weight, waist circumference, and BMI. We searched online databases including PubMed, SCOPUS, and Google Scholar for relevant articles up to September 2017. Eligible articles were reviewed by two independent investigators. Mean differences of the outcomes were used for calculation of weighted mean difference (WMD) derived from the random-effects model. Statistical heterogeneity between studies was examined using Cochran’s Q-test and I 2 index. Funnel plot and Egger’s tests were performed to assess the publication bias. In our initial search, we found 1598 publications, of which 8 RCTs (9 treatment arms) were included. The results of the meta-analysis displayed a significant reduction in WC following L-arginine supplementation (WMD: −2.97 cm; 95% CI: −4.75 to −1.18, P = 0.001). However, L-arginine intervention had not elicited a significant effect on BMI (WMD: −0.51 kg/m2; 95% CI: −1.11 to .08, P = 0.09) and body weight (WMD: −0.57 kg; 95% CI: −1.77 to 0.61, P = 0.34). Subgroup analyses displayed that longer-term interventions (≥8 weeks) had a positive effect on body weight and using < 8 g/day L-arginine with longer duration (≥8 weeks) could significantly decrease BMI. In conclusion, this meta-analysis result suggested L-arginine supplementation could reduce waist circumference without any significant effect on body weight and body mass index.


Nutrients ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 2237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen M. Sochol ◽  
Tanya S. Johns ◽  
Rupinder S. Buttar ◽  
Lovepreet Randhawa ◽  
Edeline Sanchez ◽  
...  

The incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) has increased in the US over the last several years. The consumption of low-fat dairy foods has been linked with decreasing the risk of DM but studies have yet to show a clear correlation. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) evaluating the effects of dairy intake on homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), waist circumference, and body weight. In MEDLINE and Embase, we identified and reviewed 49 relevant RCTs: 30 had appropriate data format for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Using the Review Manager 5 software, we calculated the pooled standardized mean differences comparing dairy dietary interventions to control for our outcomes of interest. For HOMA-IR (794 individuals), we found a mean difference of −1.21 (95% CI −1.74 to −0.67; p-value < 0.00001; I2 = 92%). For waist circumference (1348 individuals), the mean difference was −1.09 cm (95% CI 1.68 to −0.58; p-value < 0.00001; I2 = 94%). For body weight (2362 individuals), the dairy intake intervention group weighed 0.42 kg less than control (p-value < 0.00001; I2 = 92%). Our findings suggest that dairy intake, especially low-fat dairy products, has a beneficial effect on HOMA-IR, waist circumference, and body weight. This could impact dietary recommendations to reduce DM risk.


2021 ◽  
pp. 109980042110154
Author(s):  
Seong-Hi Park ◽  
Chul-Gyu Kim

Background: A systematic review was performed to identify the types of physical activities effective as interventions in preventing metabolic syndrome in middle-aged women. Methods: Electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and CINAHL) served as the data sources. Cochrane’s Risk of Bias 2 was applied to assess the risk of bias of the randomized controlled trials. Meta-analyses were performed on selected studies using Review Manager 5.3. Thirty-one trials enrolling 2,202 participants were included. Results: Compared to controls, the effects of physical activity were indicated by pooled mean differences, which were −0.57 kg for body weight, −0.43 kg/m2 for body mass index, −1.63 cm for waist circumference, −4.89 mmHg for systolic blood pressure (BP), and −2.71 mmHg for diastolic BP. The effects were greater on the measurements of waist circumference and BP than on body weight and BMI. The types of physical activities were further analyzed according to sub-groups. Only aerobic exercise did not affect body weight and resistance exercise did not significantly change any results. Contrarily, combined exercises significantly reduced measurements of waist circumference and BP. Conclusion: This review can provide valuable information for research and implementation of measures to prevent metabolic syndrome in middle-aged women.


2015 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. E167-E178 ◽  
Author(s):  
HHH Hamama ◽  
CKY Yiu ◽  
MF Burrow ◽  
NM King

SUMMARY Objectives The aim of this review was to assess the methodologies used in previously published prospective randomized clinical trials on chemomechanical caries removal and to conduct a meta-analysis to quantify the differences in the excavation time between chemomechanical and conventional caries removal methods. Methods An electronic search was performed using Scopus, PubMed, EBSCO host, and Cochrane Library databases. The following categories were excluded during the assessment process: non-English studies published before 2000, animal studies, review articles, laboratory studies, case reports, and nonrandomized or retrospective clinical trials. The methodologies of the selected clinical trials were assessed. Furthermore, the reviewed clinical trials were subjected to meta-analysis for quantifying the differences in excavation time between the chemomechanical and the conventional caries removal techniques. Results Only 19 randomized clinical trials fit the inclusion criteria of this systematic review. None of the 19 reviewed trials completely fulfilled Delphi's ideal criteria for quality assessment of randomized clinical trials. The meta-analysis results revealed that the shortest mean excavation time was recorded for rotary caries excavation (2.99±0.001 minutes), followed by the enzyme-based chemomechanical caries removal method (6.36±0.08 minutes) and the the hand excavation method (atraumatic restorative technique; 6.98±0.17 minutes). The longest caries excavation time was recorded for the sodium hypochlorite-based chemomechanical caries removal method (8.12±0.02 minutes). Conclusions It was found that none of the current reviewed trials fulfilled all the ideal requirements of clinical trials. Furthermore, the current scientific evidence shows that the sodium hypochlorite-based (Carisolv) chemomechanical caries removal method was more time consuming when compared to the enzyme-based (Papacarie) chemomechanical and the conventional caries removal methods. Further prospective randomized controlled clinical trials evaluating the long-term follow-up of papain-treated permanent teeth are needed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 718-727 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahsa Omidian ◽  
Mina Abdolahi ◽  
Elnaz Daneshzad ◽  
Mohsen Sedighiyan ◽  
Mohadeseh Aghasi ◽  
...  

Objective: Recent trial studies have found that resveratrol supplementation beneficially reduces oxidative stress marker, but, there is no definitive consensus on this context. The present systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the effect of resveratrol supplementation on oxidative stress parameters. Methods: We searched databases of Pubmed, Scopus and Cochrane Library up to December 2018 with no language restriction. Studies were reviewed according to preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) and Cochrane handbook. To compare the effects of resveratrol with placebo, weighted mean difference (WMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were pooled based on the random-effects model. Results: Among sixteen clinical trials, we found that resveratrol supplementation increased GPx serum levels significantly (WMD: 18.61; 95% CI: 8.70 to 28.52; P<0.001) but had no significant effect on SOD concentrations (WMD: 1.01; 95% CI: -0.72 to 2.74; P= 0.25), MDA serum levels (WMD: -1.43; 95% CI: -3.46 to 0.61; P = 0.17) and TAC (WMD: -0.09; 95% CI: -0.29 to 0.11; P = 0.36) compared to placebo. Finally, we observed that resveratrol supplementation may not have a clinically significant effect on oxidative stress. Conclusion: However, the number of human trials is limited in this context, and further large prospective clinical trials are needed to confirm the effect of resveratrol supplement on oxidative stress markers.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhenlu Li ◽  
Qianqiu Che ◽  
Mao Li ◽  
Jianping Liu ◽  
Rao Du ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Tocilizumab (TCZ) is an anti-interleukin-6 antibody that has been used to treat patients with 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Numerous retrospective studies have shown beneficial treatment efficacy. Several recent randomized clinical trials have questioned the efficacy of TCZ in patients with COVID-19. Therefore, we performed an updated systematic review and meta-analysis to explore the effectiveness and safety of tocilizumab recently used for treating patients with COVID-19. Methods Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and comparative studies that compared the outcomes between TCZ and standard of care (SOC) were analysed. PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library (inception to November 20, 2020) were systematically searched. Primary outcomes included mortality and the rate of requirement for mechanical ventilation (MV). In addition, several subgroup analyses stratified by disease severity, publication type and TCZ administration were performed. Results Three RCTs, twenty-one cohort studies and nine case-control studies including 11,206 patients were finally included. The TCZ group included 2,794 patients (24.93%) and the SOC group included 8,412 patients (75.07%). The mortality rate (>14 days) of the TCZ group, 29.63% (590/1,991), was lower than the SOC group, 41.51% (2,380/5,734) (OR 0.64, 0.57 to 0.73; p <0.00001). However, no significant difference in-14-day mortality rates was observed between the two groups (13.53% vs 22.92%, p = 0.21). Meanwhile, the rate of MV was significantly decreased in the TCZ group compared with the SOC group (OR 0.42, 0.22 to 0.83; p = 0.01). According to the results of the subgroup analysis stratified by disease severity, TCZ only reduced the mortality rate for critical patients with COVID-19 compared with SOC (OR 0.60, 0.52 to 0.71; P < 0.00001), particularly for patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) or patients requiring MV. No statistically significant increase was recognized in the rates of secondary infections or thrombosis between the two groups. Conclusions This systematic review and meta-analysis found that the addition of tocilizumab to the SOC might reduce mortality after 14 days in patients with COVID-19, particularly critical patients requiring MV. More extensive RCTs with longer follow-up periods are needed to validate these findings.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 280-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omid Sadeghi ◽  
Mehdi Sadeghian ◽  
Sepideh Rahmani ◽  
Vahid Maleki ◽  
Bagher Larijani ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Since the release of a previous meta-analysis on the effect of whole-grain intake on obesity measures, several clinical trials have been published. Therefore, we aimed to update the previous meta-analysis on the effect of whole-grain intake on obesity measures by including recently published studies, as well as considering the main limitations in that analysis. We searched the online databases of PubMed, Scopus, Clarivate Web of Science, EmBase, and Google Scholar for relevant studies published up to February 2019, using relevant keywords. Randomized clinical trials investigating the effect of whole-grain products or diets high in whole-grain foods, compared with a control diet, on anthropometric measures [including body weight, BMI, waist circumference, and fat mass (FM)] were included. In total, 21 studies with a total sample of 1798 participants, aged ≥18 years, were considered. Based on 22 effect sizes from 19 studies on body weight, with a total sample of 1698 adults, we found no significant effect of whole-grain consumption on body weight. The same findings were obtained for BMIs, such that using 10 effect sizes from 10 clinical trials with a total sample of 769 individuals we did not find any significant effect. With regards to body fat percentage [weighted mean difference (WMD): 0.27; 95% CI: −0.05 to 0.58%; P = 0.09], FM (WMD: 0.45; 95% CI: −0.12 to 1.02 kg; P = 0.12), fat-free mass (WMD: 0.31; 95% CI: −0.67 to 0.06 kg; P = 0.10), and waist circumference (WMD: 0.06; 95% CI: −0.50 to 0.63 cm; P = 0.82), we failed to find any significant effect of whole-grain consumption. In conclusion, our findings did not support current recommendations of whole-grain intake in attempts to control obesity measures. Given the beneficial effects of whole-grain intake on other measures of human health, additional well-designed studies are required to further investigate the effect on obesity. The protocol has been registered with PROSPERO (registration number CRD42019125320).


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