Table 1.

The Mechanisms of allicin in atherosclerosis

Research model	Model establishment	Intervention methods	Drug effects	Main molecular mechanisms	Citation
Mild to moderate hypercholesterolemic patients	–	4.8 mg twice daily for 12 weeks	Reducing lipid	⬇ TC, LDL-C	[39]
Hypercholesterolemic male ICR mice	Atherogenic high-cholesterol diet	5, 10, or 20 mg/kg, oral daily, 12 weeks	Lowering lipid; reducing the lipid accumulation in hepatic cells	⬇ TC, TG, LDL-C, GLU	[40]
THP-1 macrophage-derived foam cells	50 mg/ml ox-LDL for 48 h	5 g/l for 24 h	Promoting cholesterol efflux, reducing lipid accumulation	⬆ ABCA1, PPARγ, LXRα	[41]
HepG2	–	100, 200 μM for 24 h	Hypolipidemic	⬇ PCSK9, HNF-1α ⬆ LDLR, SREBP2, LDL uptake	[42]
CAD patients with HHcy	–	40 mg thrice daily for 12 weeks	Decreasing carotid artery IMT, reducing lipid	⬇ Hcy, TC, TG	[43]
l-Carnitine-fed C57BL/6 mice	l-Carnitine-fed	10 mg/kg in 0.5% CMC per day for 2 weeks	Regulating gut bacteria, reducing aortic plaques	⬇ serum TAM, TMAO and γBB (C57BL/6J) ⬇ TMAOMAX and TMAOAUC in plasma and urine (subjects) ⬇ serum d9-TMA and d9-TMAO (ApoE−/−) ⬆ enriching certain beneficial and anti-inflammatory gut commensal bacteria (subjects)	[48]
ApoE−/− female mice	l-Carnitine-fed	10 mg/kg in 0.5% CMC per day for 15 weeks
High-TMAO subjects	–	55 ml of raw garlic juice (48 mg of allicin equivalent) once a day during dinner for 1 week

ABCA1 ATP binding cassette transporter A1, CAD coronary artery disease, CMC carboxymethyl cellulose, Hcy homocysteine, HDL high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, HHcy hyperhomocysteinemia, HNF-1α hepatocyte nuclear factor-1 alpha, IMT intima‑media thickness, GLU glucose, LDH lactate dehydrogenase, LDL low-density lipoprotein, LDL-C low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, LXRα liver X receptor alpha, TC total cholesterol, TG triglyceride, TMA trimethylamine, TMAO trimethylamine N-oxide, PPARγ peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ, PCSK9 proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9, SREBP2 sterol regulatory element binding proteins 2