Abstract
Allium sp. vegetables are widely consumed for their characteristic flavour. Additionally, their consumption may provide protection against cardiovascular disease due to their antiplatelet and antioxidant activities. Although antiplatelet and antioxidant activities in Allium sp. are generally recognised, comparative studies of antiplatelet and antioxidant potency among the main Allium vegetable species are lacking. Also, the relationship between organosulfur and phenolic compounds and these biological activities has not been well established. In this study, the in vitro antiplatelet and antioxidant activities of the most widely consumed Allium species are characterised and compared. The species total organosulfur and phenolic content, and the HPLC profiles of 11 phenolic compounds were characterised and used to investigate the relationship between these compounds and antiplatelet and antioxidant activities. Furthermore, antiplatelet activities in chives and shallot have been characterised for the first time. Our results revealed that the strongest antiplatelet agents were garlic and shallot, whereas chives had the highest antioxidant activity. Leek and bunching onion had the weakest both biological activities. Significantly positive correlations were found between the in vitro antiplatelet activity and total organosulfur (R=0.74) and phenolic (TP) content (R=0.73), as well as between the antioxidant activity and TP (R=0.91) and total organosulfur content (R=0.67). Six individual phenolic compounds were associated with the antioxidant activity, with catechin, epigallocatechin and epicatechin gallate having the strongest correlation values (R>0.80). Overall, our results suggest that both organosulfur and phenolic compounds contribute similarly to Allium antiplatelet activity, whereas phenolics, as a whole, are largely responsible for antioxidant activity, with broad variation observed among the contributions of individual phenolic compounds.
Highlights
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide, with higher prevalence in developed countries
Our results revealed that the strongest antiplatelet agents were garlic and shallot, whereas chives had the highest antioxidant activity
Our results suggest that both organosulfur and phenolic compounds contribute to Allium antiplatelet activity, whereas phenolics, as a whole, are largely responsible for antioxidant activity, with broad variation observed among the contributions of individual phenolic compounds
Summary
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide, with higher prevalence in developed countries. Functional properties that may confer protection against CVD, antiplatelet activity has been extensively studied in garlic [2,3,4,5] and onion [5,6,7,8], and in selected organosulfur compounds from these species [9]. Antiplatelet agents have been found in leek [10] and bunching onion [11] These studies used very different experimental conditions (e.g. different sour ces of platelets, agonists and aggregometer apparatus; and different sources of the antiplatelet agents, such as fresh or cooked plant materials, or isolated compounds, etc.) and they only analysed antiplatelet activity of a single Allium species, making their results not directly comparable. These Allium vegetables are economically important and widely consumed in specific regions of the world, such as chives in Asia, and shallot in parts of Europe and America
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