Experiments were carried out to investigate the effect of garlic, both fresh and old, on hypercholesterolemia. Forty healthy rabbits were equally divided into four groups, namely control, cholesterol, fresh garlic and old garlic. Except the control group, each rabbit in the other three groups was given 0.5g of cholesterol every day. The rabbits of fresh and old garlic groups were fed in addition respectively with fresh garlic, and garlic that had been stored for seven months, the doses being 2g for each. The results showed that fresh garlic had a significant effect of reducing diet-induced hypercholesterolemia and diminishing arteriosclerotic changes in aorta, but old garlic failed to show such effects.During the 50-day period when rabbits were fed with fresh or old garlic no toxic reaction was observed.

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a common microvascular complication of diabetes. "Internal heat leading to zheng" is the core pathogenesis of DKD, while "glucose toxicity" is transformed from subtle substances through "internal heat" and the cementation of various pathological products, which is pivotal to the transformation of diabetes to DKD. "Glucose toxicity" is characterized by deep and widespread heat, caused by various pathological factors, and its sticky nature makes it difficult to resolve, which can cause severe damage to the kidney collaterals. In the early stage of "glucose toxicity", it is yang pathogen, which can be transformed into yin pathogen in the later stage with disease progression. In clinical practice, treatment should be based on disease staging, with attention on grasping the pathogenesis of "internal heat leading to zheng" and identifying the nature of "glucose toxicity". During the diabetic period, clearing heat is the primary method, often using modified Yueju Pill and Dachaihu Decoction. In the early stage of DKD, treatment primarily focuses on clearing and penetrating latent heat to treat DKD, aiming to prevent toxic heat from transitioning from qi to blood. The approach emphasizes clearing heat and re-penetrating, detoxification, and re-clearing, often using a self-made modified Qingre Xiaozheng Decoction. In the middle and late stages of DKD, the focus shifts to clearing heat, eliminating zheng, strengthening vital qi, and dispelling turbidity, with commonly used treatments including the self-made modified Xiezhuo Xiaozheng Formula, Jingui Shenqi Pill, and Zhenwu Decoction.