Antimicrobial Activity of Garlic Heated under Different Conditions, Time of Heating, and pH

Antimicrobial activity of garlic (pH 6.0) heated at $120^{\circ}C$ reached its maximum at 45 min of heating and maintained the level for the rest of heating time (300 min) when tested against Candida utilis ATCC42416. The principal antimicrobial compound was allyl alcohol (AA), a highly volatile compound without sulfur in its molecule. The concentration of AA in heated garlic gradually increased to over 2,000 ppm for the first 90 min and stayed at the level without appreciable changes in spite of further heating. Other antimicrobial compounds secondary to AA were lowly volatile sulfur compounds including diallyl polysulfides (diallyl trisulfide, diallyl tetrasulfide, and diallyl pentasulfide) and heterocyclic sulfur compounds (4-methyl-1,2,3-trithiolane, 5-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrathiane, and 6-methyl-1,2,3,4,5-pentathiepane). When the pH of the garlic extract was lowered before heating, considerably more secondary antimicrobial sulfur compounds were formed and the antimicrobial activity was stronger than the pH unadjusted garlic. Lowly volatile sulfur compounds contributed a significant part of antimicrobial activity of heated garlic only during the early period (45-120 min) of heating regardless of pH treatment.