Several previous studies have provided evidence that suggests the beneficial effects of garlic and black vinegar on human health, including benefits to immune function. The preliminary study indicated that the intake of black-vinegar-mash-garlic-containing food, created from aged garlic pickled in the mash of black vinegar, enhanced the release of secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) in the saliva. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of the food in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial. The trial was conducted in subjects aged between 30 and 60 years whose rate of salivary sIgA release was moderately low. Subjects consumed 2.49 g of placebo or black-vinegar-mash-garlic-containing food (active food) daily for 8 weeks. The data obtained with 54 eligible subjects (n=28 and 26 for placebo and active, respectively) were analyzed for efficacy. The rates of salivary sIgA release in the active food group (35.9±84.6 and 47.9±123.4 µg/min at weeks 4 and 8 of intake; changes from pretrial value) were higher compared to the respective rates in the placebo food group (-12.3±72.1 and -3.2±85.9 µg/min, P=0.028 and 0.082, respectively). These findings indicate that intake of black-vinegar-mash-garlic-containing food enhanced the intraoral immune response. There was no adverse event associated with the intake of active food.
Keywords: black vinegar; clinical study; garlic; immune function; secretory immunoglobulin A.