On the basis of a number of new rigorously designed controlled studies, there is increasingly less evidence for lipid lowering properties of garlic preparations. Many other aspects of garlic drugs, such as direct effects on vessel walls (aortic elasticity, effects of antioxidant properties on early steps in atherosclerosis formation) or anti‐platelet aggregation effects, are still awaiting further elucidation in clinical studies. Curr Opin Lipidol 9:565–569. © 1998 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins