Prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, two-arm study to evaluate the efficacy of coadministration of garlic as a hydrogen sulfide donor and tadalafil in patients with erectile dysfunction not responding to tadalafil alone – A pilot study

OBJECTIVE: 

The objective is to evaluate the efficacy of coadministration of garlic (as a hydrogen sulfide [H₂S] donor) and tadalafil for patients with ED using a placebo-controlled, prospective, randomized, two-arm pilot study in patients responding poorly to tadalafil alone.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: 

The patients with complaints of ED (with normal penile Doppler) who failed to maintain sustained improvement in erectile function with tadalafil were recruited after excluding those with comorbidities. The study sample was randomized into two groups. Group A received garlic 5 g twice a day orally and Group B received a placebo twice daily orally for 4 weeks. Both groups continued tadalafil 5 mg in the night for 4 weeks. Their erectile function was assessed at the beginning and at the end of 4 weeks using the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-EF), erectile function domain and compared. A value of P ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS: 

Nineteen patients in Group A (mean age 37.5 ± 10.6 years) and 16 patients in Group B (mean age 39.6 ± 9.6 years) participated in the pilot study conducted from May 2022 to August 2022. The participants treated with garlic (as an H₂S donor) as a coadministrant had statistically significant improvement in IIEF-EF score (P ≤ 0.0001) at the end of 4 weeks compared to placebo.

CONCLUSIONS: 

Garlic (as an H₂S donor) as adjunctive therapy was beneficial in our study participants responding poorly to tadalafil alone.