Simultaneous Determination of Alliin and Allicin in Allium Plants and Their Products by Liquid Chromatography

Abstract

Alliin and allicin in garlic and their products are determined simultaneously by ion-pair reversedphase liquid chromatography (LC) with diode array UV detection. Alliin is extracted from fresh garlic, purified by ion-exchange chromatography, and appliedas external standard. Allicin is generated enzymatically from alliin, confirmed by LC, and applied as external standard. Compounds areextracted from samples with water and chromatographed on an octadecylsilane column with gradient elution from 0.01 M phosphate buffer (pH 2.5) with 5 mM heptanesulfonic acid (A) to 0.01 M phosphate buffer (pH 2.5)-acetonitrile (1 + 1; B). Themethod can be used to analyze fresh garlic, spices, garlic preparations, and health foods.