Brazil fights flatulence, with garlic

A Brazilian company said Wednesday it was bringing to market a garlic capsule designed to tackle flatulence.

"This garlic oil is rich in antioxidants and deodorants and combats intestinal dysbiosis, a colon malfunction that increases flatulence," Polias chemist Joseth Gimenes told AFP.

Garlic itself is renowned for giving off a pong of its own.

But Gimenes insisted that the garlic capsule is mainly released in the intestine and does not rise back into the mouth, even though the digestion begins in the stomach.

"Hence there is no risk of bad breath," she added.

Gimenes said the company was targeting 15 percent of Brazil's 200 million inhabitants estimated to be suffering from intestinal dysbiosis.

The company hopes eventually to eventually export the remedy, which costs 40 reais ($20) for 120 capsules.

© 2013 AFP