The Effectiveness of Garlic Consumption on Improving Anosmia and Dysgeusia in Patients with COVID-19

Baha’a  Mohammed Abu Salma; Mohammed Omar Ibrahim; Haneen Nayef  Al-Tarawneh; Nizar Al- Rabadi; Ali Ibrahim Elmoumani

doi:10.18502/jnfs.v9i2.15427

Baha’a Mohammed Abu Salma Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Jerash University, Jerash, Jordan
Mohammed Omar Ibrahim Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Mu’tah University, Karak, Jordan
Haneen Nayef Al-Tarawneh Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Jerash University, Jerash, Jordan
Nizar Al- Rabadi Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Jerash University, Jerash, Jordan
Ali Ibrahim Elmoumani Department of Neurology, Ministry of Health, Amman, Jordan.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jnfs.v9i2.15427

Keywords: Garlic intake; Anosmia; Dysgeusia; COVID-19

Abstract

Background: Anosmia and dysgeusia are symptoms associated with COVID-19 infection following the announcement of the disease as a pandemic. Moreover, there is no effective treatment for the disease. Garlic is a well-known herb with antimicrobial and antiviral properties. This study evaluates the potential therapeutic effect of garlic consumption on reducing the recovery time from anosmia and dysgeusia symptoms among participants with COVID-19. Methods: 388 Jordanian participants with COVID-19 infection were enrolled in an online computer-assisted web survey during the period from 20^th September 2021 to 20^th January 2022. The survey consisted of three constructs; socio-demographic profile, symptoms associated with COVID-19, and frequency of garlic and onion consumption used during the infection. Results: The results of this study showed that almost half of the participants were between 20-40 (193, 49.7%); most of them complained about fever, fatigue, anosmia, and dysgeusia and used onion (20, 93%) and garlic (29, 23%) to alleviate symptoms of the disease. In total, 40.7% of garlic-using participants recovered from anosmia within the first 11-15 days, whereas 35.3% recovered between 6-10 days. Results also revealed that there was no correlation between garlic consumption and recovery from dysgeusia. Hence, there was a weak inverse association between garlic consumption and recovery time from anosmia. Conclusion: The authors concluded that consumption of garlic will enhance immune system during the fight against COVID-19. There is need for further study to identify the proper amount of garlic consumption to relieve anosmia symptoms during COVID-19.