Allium sativum L. (Garlic) Role in Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review of Clinical Trials

Osteoarthritis is a chronic degenerative disease involving the joints and bones, causing their degradation over time. Inflammation, pain, and stiffness in joints are indicators of the disease. Pharmacotherapy cannot always be efficient and may cause side effects. So, adjuncts such as complementary herbs have become of note. Garlic is a herb well-known for its various therapeutic effects such as anti-bacterial, anti-hypertension, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Due to garlic's widespread use, studying its effects and mechanisms on inflammatory diseases such as osteoarthritis has been noteworthy. We searched Science Direct, Pubmed, Cochrane, and Google Scholar databases for all articles published until October 2020, based on PRISMA. Searched keywords were the following: [(garlic and arthritis), (garlic and osteoarthritis), (Garlic and OA), (Allium sativum and arthritis), (Allium sativum and osteoarthritis), (Allium sativum and OA)]. The results showed garlic, and its constituents have remarkable effects on improving OA symptoms through antioxidant and anti-inflammatory pathways. Our review shows that groups receiving garlic as a treatment showed a significant reduction in pain and inflammatory factor levels and an improved physical function instead of the control group.