Comparative studies of nutritional and health-enhancing properties in the “garlic-like” plant Allium ampeloprasum var. ampeloprasum (GHG-L) and A. sativum

Abstract

Allium ampeloprasum var. ampeloprasum, commonly referred to as great headed garlic (GHG) represents the genus Allium, which comprises plant species that have been used in human diet for thousands of years. This paper presents the first comparative studies focused on the nutritional and health-enhancing properties of locally grown GHG, referred to as GHG-L, in comparison with Allium sativum. The genetic comparative analysis has shown that the examined GHG-L is phylogenetically related to both A. ampeloprasum var. porrum (leek) and A. sativum (garlic). The cloning of the internal transcribed sequence region (ITS) of the ribosomal DNA gene cluster of GHG-L showed two different ITS alleles—GHG-L(a) and GHG-L(b)—which were found to be characteristics of ribotype 1 and 2, identical to those of the hexaploid forms of the A. ampeloprasum GHG group. The analysis of phenotypic and morphological traits in GHG-L indicates that the aboveground part of the species is similar that of leek, whereas the underground part resembles garlic. Biochemical analyses were carried out in order to assess the nutritional and pharmacological values of GHG-L in comparison with garlic. The analyses of amino acids and secondary metabolites as well as the antioxidant activity in the leaves and bulbs in GHG-L and garlic revealed that GHG-L had remarkably higher nutritional values than garlic, and the bulbs were considerably richer in bioactive substances than the leaves. It can be concluded that GHG-L has high consumption values, exceeding the nutritional and health-enhancing properties of garlic; hence, it is a good candidate for functional foods.