Antioxidant Activity of Allicin,
an Active Principle in Garlic

This section is compiled by Frank M. Painter, D.C.
Send all comments or additions to:    Frankp@chiro.org

FROM:   Mol Cell Biochem 1995 (Jul 19);   148 (2):   183–189

Prasad K, Laxdal VA, Yu M, Raney BL

Department of Physiology,
College of Medicine,
University of Saskatchewan,
Saskatoon, Canada

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Garlic has been claimed to be effective against diseases, in the pathophysiology of which oxygen free radicals (OFRs) have been implicated. Effectiveness of garlic could be due to its ability to scavenge OFRs. However, its antioxidant activity is not know. We investigated the ability of allicin (active ingredient of garlic) contained in the commercial preparation Garlicin to scavenge hydroxyl radicals (-OH) using high pressure liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method. -OH was generated by photolysis of H2O2 (1.2510 moles/ml) with ultraviolet light and was trapped with salicylic acid which is hydroxylated to produce OH adduct products 2,3- and 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHBA), H2O2 produced a concentration-dependent OH as estimated by -OH adduct products 2,3-DHBA and 2,5-DHBA. Allicin equivalent in Garlicin (1.8, 3.6, 7.2, 14.4, 21.6, 28.8 and 36 g) produced concentration-dependent decreases in the formation of 2,3-DHBA and 2,5-DHBA. The inhibition of formation of 2,3-DHBA and 2,5-DHBA with 1.8 g/ml was 32.36% and 43.2% respectively while with 36.0 g/ml the inhibition was approximately 94.0% and 90.0% respectively. The decrease in OH adduct products was due to scavenging of OH and not by scavenging of formed OH adduct products. Allicin prevented the lipid peroxidation of liver homogenate in a concentration- dependent manner. These results suggest that allicin scavenges OH and Garlicin has antioxidant activity.

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