Quantitation of Allicin in Garlic-based Products: Comparisons among Spectrophotometry, GC and HPLC

Chunli Zhou,Xueyan Hu,Shuiyin Zhang,Chen Chao,Xueming Yan,Hui Li,Fengmei Yang,Quanhong Li

doi:10.19026/ajfst.9.2007

Abstract

Spectrophotometric, GC and HPLC methods were used to determinate allicin concentration in garlic-based products (garlic powder, garlic oil and garlic tablets). Allicin was extracted using a mixture of water and ethanol and analyzed by the three methods. The results revealed that the GC method was unsuitable for allicin quantitation because of high coefficient of variations and high temperatures. The spectrophotometric method was the simplest and most effective method for solid garlic-based products. The HPLC method was more accurate for allicin quantitation in all garlic-based products, especially liquids. Furthermore, the HPLC method allowed the simultaneous quantitation of allicin and allicin degradation products such as diallyl sulfide, dimethyl trisulfide, diallyl disulfide and diallyl trisulfide. Based on the spectrophotometric and HPLC method, garlic oil contained the highest allicin concentration, followed by the garlic tablets and garlic powder.

Highlights

Garlic (Allium sativum linn.), a common food condiment, is considered a dietary supplement due to its cholesterol-lowering effects
Unlike the HPLC and GC methods, the spectrophotometry method did not require the use of standards
The results revealed that the HPLC method was more sensitive than the GC method; the lowest detection limit of HPLC was lower than that of GC

Summary

Introduction

Garlic (Allium sativum linn.), a common food condiment, is considered a dietary supplement due to its cholesterol-lowering effects. Garlic-based products have become increasingly popular over the past several years. For individuals who cannot tolerate the consumption of raw garlic, garlic-based products constitute a means of consuming allicin, the main bioactive compound in garlic. Allicin (S- (2-propenyl) 2-propene-1sulfinothioate), which is known as diallyl thiosulfinate, is a flavor compound. The structure of allicin has a Sulfur Oxide (SO) group (Ali et al, 2000). Allicin is not present in whole garlic. Loses its beneficial properties within hours through its conversion into other sulfur-containing compounds (Sigounas et al, 1997; Hirsch et al, 2000). Allicin (diallyl thiosulfinate) is formed by attaching an allyl group and an oxygen atom to the sulfur atom of cysteine (Khar et al, 2011)

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