"Australian garlic variety can limit internal spread of COVID and influenza A, Doherty Institute finds"
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-31/australian-garlic-limits-spread-of-covid-and-flu-medical-study/102414668 (2023-05-31)
"Australian garlic kills COVID-19, says Doherty Institute"
https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/health-and-wellness/doherty-finds-garlic-kills-covid-20230530-p5dcgn (2023-05-31)
"Advertorial Release: Australian ‘SupaGarlic’ demonstrates 99.9% efficacy against viruses that cause COVID-19 and the common flu."
https://www.australiangarlic.com.au/media/#media-release
The institution that performed this research has confirmed that the findings do not support any claims related to the use of garlic or garlic ingredients by humans.
https://twitter.com/TheDohertyInst/status/1664189550888099840?s=20
The finding applies to a specific, proprietary variant of Australian garlic, not all garlic.
"The team tested about 20 varieties of garlic in different forms, but the laboratory trials found only one type of garlic was effective in curbing the infectivity of the viruses."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-31/australian-garlic-limits-spread-of-covid-and-flu-medical-study/102414668 (2023-05-31)
The study was in-vitro. This means the test was conducted in a container in a laboratory - not in a living organism. In-vitro studies are a common first step to determine if there is a plausible mechanism that the treatment could work, but whole living organisims such as the human body work very differently than a container of infected cells mixed directly with garlic extract. There is little reason to think this will translate.
"The world-first research, commissioned by the Australian Garlic Producers organisation, involved in-vitro testing against the SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza type A viruses, using garlic ingredients extracted from exclusive Australian grown garlic varieties."
https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/health-and-wellness/doherty-finds-garlic-kills-covid-20230530-p5dcgn
The actual study does not seem to have been published anywhere and it is not mentioned on the Doherty Institute website (search for "garlic" yields only one unrelated result as of 2023-05-31 which specifically says that garlic has no impact on your immune response and won't eliminate the virus)
On 2023-06-01, the Doherty Institute made a statement on Twitter:
Recent work, commissioned by the company Australian Garlic Producers (AGP), involved in-vitro testing only of a range of garlic extracts to investigate potential antiviral activity against two viruses.
The findings of this lab-based study, released by AGP, do not show medical treatment application. Stringent clinical trials would need to be conducted to determine if these findings translate from test tubes to humans.
The Doherty Institute frequently evaluates the antiviral properties of products under paid contracts with commercial entities.
Source: https://twitter.com/thedohertyinst/status/1664189549277515776
Without any human trials, the Australian Garlic Producers is already looking to commercialize this dubious treatment.
"Australian Garlic Producers chief executive Nick Diamantopolous said that as a result of the discovery his company would be developing dietary supplements."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-31/australian-garlic-limits-spread-of-covid-and-flu-medical-study/102414668 (2023-05-31)
The organization already promotes a line of supplements known as SupaGarlic. At https://supagarlic.com.au, supplements are sold for "Congestion Relief", "Immune Support", "Cardio & Heart Health", and "Health & Wellbeing". A page on this website called "The Science" contains no science, just vague claims.
Australian Garlic Producers 'Advertorial Release':
https://www.australiangarlic.com.au/media/#media-release
SupaGarlic
https://supagarlic.com.au
-study was in-vitro (eg: in a petri dish, not a living organism). In-vitro findings frequently do NOT translate to real life.
-finding relates to one specific proprietary variety of garlic.
-funded by Australian Garlic Producers - already developing a daily supplement