•The review outlines factors affecting chemical composition.•Garlic considered one of the richest vegetable sources of total phenolic compounds.•Bioactive properties are attributed to the ...organosulfur compounds content.•Allicin, the major organosulfur compound is very unstable.•Processing treatments may have a profound effect on garlic quality.
Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is considered one of the twenty most important vegetables, with various uses throughout the world, either as a raw vegetable for culinary purposes, or as an ingredient of traditional and modern medicine. Furthermore, it has also been proposed as one of the richest sources of total phenolic compounds, among the usually consumed vegetables, and has been highly ranked regarding its contribution of phenolic compounds to human diet. This review aims to examine all the aspects related with garlic chemical composition and quality, focusing on its bioactive properties. A particular emphasis is given on the organosulfur compounds content, since they highly contribute to the effective bioactive properties of garlic, including its derived products. The important effects of pre-harvest (genotype and various cultivation practices) and post-harvest conditions (storage conditions and processing treatments) on chemical composition and, consequently, bioactive potency of garlic are also discussed.
Ditylenchus destructor is a plant-parasitic nematode that severely damages garlic (Allium sativum L.) in Japan. D. destructor is detected in roots, bulbs, and outer bulb skins of garlic at harvest; ...however, the resistance of garlic to D. destructor infection is not well understood. Here, we investigated the propagation of D. destructor in storage organs and roots using in vitro plantlets of six Japanese garlic varieties to exclude the effects of microbes and to uniform growing conditions. In vitro inoculation can proceed simultaneously with vegetative growth, storage organ formation of garlic plantlets, and D. destructor infection. In ‘Fukuchi-white’, a variety susceptible to D. destructor, nematodes successfully propagated in storage organs and roots. Furthermore, the nematodes invaded and propagated in the newly formed storage organs. By contrast, ‘Kirishima’, ‘Hirado’, and ‘Shishimaru’ substantially suppressed more the propagation of the nematodes in storage organs and roots than ‘Fukuchi-white’. Additionally, the propagation of nematodes in newly formed storage organs was inhibited in these three varieties. ‘Shishimaru’ showed unique responses to D. destructor infection: nematode propagation was the lowest among six varieties in inoculation tests and the nematode-inoculated cloves turned brown. Our results suggest that several garlic varieties have resistance mechanisms that suppress the propagation of D. destructor in storage organs and roots, and that in vitro inoculation methods are useful for selecting resistant garlic varieties. These findings will help developing novel D. destructor-resistant garlic varieties and our further understanding of garlic-nematode interactions.
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•Four DESs were screened out via the COSMO-RS approach.•Allium sativum L. was collected and successfully extracted.•Antibacterial activities of Allium sativum extract and DESs were ...studied.•DESs exhibited strong antibacterial activity against various bacteria.
The growing concern of antibiotic resistance calls for the identification of new and sustainable solutions. In this study, we employed the COSMO-RS model to select promising deep eutectic solvents (DESs) for investigating the antibacterial properties of Allium sativum L. (garlic) extract. Through computational analysis, we selected two hydrogen bond acceptors (HBAs) and three hydrogen bond donors (HBDs) and found that DESs containing choline chloride (ChCl) as an HBA were the most optimal for this research. Our experiments revealed that the chosen mixtures, which consisted of 50 % garlic extract and 50 % DES, displayed outstanding activity against 11 microbial strains including gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria as well as a fungal strain commonly found in hospital settings with inhibition zones ranging from 18 to 50 mm. Notably, the selected mixtures displayed a synergistic effect against B. subtilis, S. aureus, and L. monocytogenes. Furthermore, the minimum inhibitory and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MIC and MBC) recorded were between 0.0125 and 0.4 µl/ml, respectively. These findings confirm the potent antibacterial properties of Allium sativum L. extract and the enhancement of its effectiveness when combined with DESs. This study represents a significant step towards the development of natural and sustainable alternatives to combat antibiotic resistance.
Introduction: Garlic (Allium sativum L.), has been cultivated in various countries and is valued for its medicinal and culinary properties. It contains bioactive compounds such as phenolic ...compounds, organic sulfides, polysaccharides, and saponins, with allicin being a particularly studied compound. These compounds have been shown to possess antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiviral, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-hyperlipidemic and antihypertensive effects. Garlic has been used for over 5000 years as a curative plant and has potential applications in food science, medicine, and nutraceuticals. Aim of the Study: The aim of the study is to provide a comprehensive review of the overall impact of Allium sativum L. on human health and in order to draw attention to the benefits of regular consumption. Materials and methods: A comprehensive review of scientific and medical literature was conducted utilizing PubMed and Google Scholar databases. Searching terms were: garlic, Allium sativum L., garlic anti-inflammatory, garlic anticancer, garlic health effects. Conclusion: Allium sativum L. is associated with a comprehensive range of beneficial effects on the human body. These include anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, positive influence on lipid profile, cardiovascular system, and the anticancer activity among others by stimulation of tumor apoptosis. As a result, garlic and its bioactive compounds hold promise as functional foods or nutraceuticals for the prevention and treatment of various diseases.
•Three-phase partitioning (TPP) and gradient ethanol precipitation (GEP) are applied.•Polysaccharides (GPSs) were orderly prepared from raw garlic bulbs by TPP and GEP.•GPS80 had high carbohydrate ...and uronic acid contents, and low molecular weight.•GPS80 showed the stronger in vitro biological activities than the other three GPSs.
In the present study, three-phase partitioning (TPP) coupled with gradient ethanol precipitation (GEP) was developed for the first time to extract and isolate polysaccharides (GPSs) from raw garlic (Allium sativum L.) bulbs. Four kinds of fructose polymers, namely, GPS35, GPS50, GPS65, and GPS80, were obtained at the final ethanol precipitation concentrations of 35%, 50%, 65%, and 80% (v/v), respectively, and their physicochemical characteristics and in vitro biological activities were investigated. Results indicated that GPS80 had higher carbohydrate (86.68% ± 0.90%) and uronic acid (12.89% ± 0.09%) contents, lower weight-average molecular weight (8.93 × 103 Da), and looser surface morphology than the other three GPSs. Furthermore, among the four GPSs, GPS80 exhibited the strongest antioxidant capacities, inhibitory effects on α-amylase and α-glycosidase, and nitric oxide stimulatory activity on RAW264.7 macrophage cells in vitro. Therefore, this study provides a simple and feasible technological strategy for producing bioactive polysaccharides from raw Allium vegetables.
Nanoplastics (NPs) arouse increasing attention recently. Many studies have shown possible negative effects on plants exposed to NPs, but more data are needed on various species of plants to elucidate ...the potential phytotoxicity mechanisms of NPs. In this work, a pot experiment was conducted to analyze toxicity induced by polystyrene nanoplastics (PSNPs; particle size, 75.10 nm) at diverse doses (0.05, 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0 mg/g dry soil weight) to seedlings of garlic (Allium sativum L.). The photosynthetic pigments, antioxidant enzyme activities, common phytohormones and styrene contents, and nutritional quality of leaves of A. sativum seedlings were determined. Results showed that the toxic effects of PSNPs on plants at 42 days after exposure were stronger than those at 28 days. Chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, as well as carotenoids levels within A. sativum leaves treated with PSNPs for 42 days decreased, with the highest decreasing rates of 40.22%, 41.29%, and 27.38%, respectively. The malondialdehyde (MDA) level within A. sativum leaves was noticeably up-regulated at 0.5 and 1.0 mg/g of PSNPs. Furthermore, the guaiacol peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) activities and the abscisic acid (ABA) contents increased significantly with increasing the concentrations of PSNPs. After exposure for 42 days, allicin, soluble sugar and soluble protein levels decreased with increasing the concentration of PSNPs. The highest styrene content in leaves of A. sativum was obtained for the treatment group of the 0.5 mg/g PSNPs, showing an increase of 23.73% relative to control. Collectively, PSNPs were translocated into the leaves of A. sativum from roots, significantly affected the photosynthetic pigments contents, and significantly induced oxidative stress in A. sativum. Furthermore, high doses of PSNPs exposure impaired the A. sativum’s nutritive quality. These research results can provide basic data for accurately evaluating the ecological toxicity of NPs on crops.
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•The styrene content in leaves of A. sativum plants was increased with the increasing concentration of PSNPs in soil.•The pollution with high doses of PSNPs could reduce the nutritional quality of A. sativum.•The PSNPs significantly induced oxidative stress in A. sativum seedlings.•The ABA, POD and CAT may be the main adaptation strategy that A. sativum seedlings adopt to cope with PSNPs stress.
Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is one of the most valuable plants in the world because it contains important substances with protective and healing effects on human health. Its health-promoting effects ...have been already known in ancient Egypt, China, Greece and also the Romans used it. Many studies have shown that garlic can help from colds, coughs, flu, pulmonary diseases, clean blood vessels, lowers blood pressure and cholesterol and has antibacterial, antiviral, anti-carcinogenic, antimutagenic and antioxidant properties. Garlic contains antioxidant that support the body´s defence mechanism against oxidative damage. The physiological effect of garlic can be affected by sulphur – containing compounds as well as other biologically active compounds such as polyphenols (mainly flavonoids), minerals (Ca, Fe, I, K, Mg, Na, Zn) and vitamins (A, B1, B2, B6, C). The main sulphur compound in garlic is alliin, converted to allicin by the enzyme alliinase, which results in a characteristic garlic aroma and taste.
Plants of the genus Allium developed a diversity of defense mechanisms against pathogenic fungi of the genus Fusarium, including transcriptional activation of pathogenesis-related (PR) genes. ...However, the information on the regulation of PR factors in garlic (Allium sativum L.) is limited. In the present study, we identified AsPR genes putatively encoding PR1, PR2, PR4, and PR5 proteins in A. sativum cv. Ershuizao, which may be involved in the defense against Fusarium infection. The promoters of the AsPR1–5 genes contained jasmonic acid-, salicylic acid-, gibberellin-, abscisic acid-, auxin-, ethylene-, and stress-responsive elements associated with the response to plant parasites. The expression of AsPR1c, d, g, k, AsPR2b, AsPR5a, c (in roots), and AsPR4a(c), b, and AsPR2c (in stems and cloves) significantly differed between garlic cultivars resistant and susceptible to Fusarium rot, suggesting that it could define the PR protein-mediated protection against Fusarium infection in garlic. Our results provide insights into the role of PR factors in A. sativum and may be useful for breeding programs to increase the resistance of Allium crops to Fusarium infections.
The widespread heavy metal contamination of agricultural soils poses an enormous challenge to food safety. To evaluate the Cd immobilization potential of vermicompost combined with modified shell ...powder (VMSP) on Cd-contaminated soil, batch adsorption tests and field experiments were conducted. First, the Cd2+ removal characteristics and adsorption mechanisms of vermicompost (V), vermicompost combined with shell powder (VSP), and VMSP in an aqueous solution were investigated by batch tests. Then, 3 kg·m2 V, VSP, and VMSP doses were applied to Cd-contaminated farmland soils as soil amendments to plant green garlic (Allium sativum L.) and investigate their Cd immobilization effects in Cd-contaminated soils. Batch adsorption tests showed that VMSP was most effective for Cd2+ removal, with adsorption rates as high as 85.7–99.79% and desorption rates of approximately 1.25–1.34%. Combining further characterization analysis of VMSP, it was demonstrated that the adsorption mechanism of Cd2+ was monolayer chemisorption, mainly involving the complexation reaction of Cd2+ with organic functional groups and the precipitation reaction of Cd2+ with mineral elements. The field experiment showed that adding V, VSP, and VMSP effectively inhibited the enrichment of Cd in green garlic, and the Cd content was reduced by 42.18%, 46.88%, and 68.75%, respectively. However, only the Cd content of green garlic treated with VMSP was lower than the national standard for food safety in China (Cd≤ 0.2 mg·kg-1). V, VSP, and VMSP additions improved soil fertility and reduced Cd bioavailability in the soil by 15.5%, 18.9%, and 36.3%, respectively. In addition, V, VSP, and VMSP addition increased bacterial diversity and improved bacterial communities and functions in the soil by improving basic soil properties and reducing Cd-related toxicity. The results indicated that VMSP is a promising amendment for Cd immobilization in Cd-contaminated farmland soils.
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•The mechanism of Cd2+ removal by VMSP in the aqueous phase has been elucidated.•VMSP reduced the bioavailability of Cd in Cd-contaminated soil by 36.3%.•VMSP reduced the content of Cd in green garlic by 68.75%.•VMSP improved soil microbial community structure and function.•VMSP showed great potential in Cd immobilization in Cd-contaminated soil.
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