Antioxidant Abilities of Cultivated and Wild Species of Garlic D. S ˇ tajner 1 *, N. Milic ´ 1 , N. Mimica-Dukic ´ 2 , B. Lazic ´ 1 and R. Igic ´ 3 1 Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovic ´a 8, 21000 Novi Sad, Yugoslavia 2 Institute of Chemistry, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovic ´a 3, 21000 Novi Sad, Yugoslavia 3 Institute of Biology, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovic ´a 1, 21000 Novi Sad, Yugoslavia The antioxidant abilities of cultivated and wild species of garlic were investigated. Huge quantities of malonyldialdehyde (MDA), superoxide (O 2 .À ) and hydroxyl (OH . ) radicals were observed in the above- ground parts of plants examined. The highest quantities of O 2 .À and OH . were observed in the above- ground parts of wild Allium vienale L. where lipid peroxidation was also the highest. Carotenoid and vitamin C contents were the highest in leaves of cultivated Allium vienale L. where quantities of MDA, O 2 .À and OH . were small indicating its high antioxidant ability. # 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Phytother. Res. 12, S13–S14 (1998) Keywords: garlic, antioxidant ability, oxygen radicals. INTRODUCTION Alliums have been grown for many thousands of years for their therapeutic and prophylactic properties, their religious significance and their flavour and taste. Among others, Hippocrates (430. B.C.) and Theoprastus (322. B.C.) described the consumption of onions and garlic in the Mediterranean areas and referred to a plethora of medical uses and described numerous points for both internal and external application (Fenwick and Hanley, 1985). Today garlic is used as a spicy food item in all parts of the world, having significance as a folk remedy for foul ulcers, pneumonia, bronchitis, gastrointestinal disorders etc. (Lau et al., 1983). It is well known that garlic possesses antibacterial, antifungal, antitumour, hypoglycaemic, hypolipidaemic etc. effects. Garlic is more important than onion in these respects (Brewster and Rabinowitch, 1990). Biochemical investigations of garlic showed that it contains water, proteins, fat, carbohydrates, traces of Ca, Fe, Zn, small amounts of vitamins etc, but data about its antioxidant properties are so far very rare. Recent investigations showed that the antioxidant properties of plants could be correlated with oxidative stress defence (Uddin and Ahmad, 1995; S ˇ tajner et al., 1995a), and different human diseases including cancer and athero- sclerosis (Gey, 1994), as well as the aging process (Frei, 1996). Therefore the aim of our study was to investigate and compare antioxidant abilities of cultivated and wild garlic species in order to evaluate possible differences. MATERIAL AND METHODS Material for our investigations were two plant species from the family Liliaceae, Allium vienale L. and Allium sativum L. The above-ground parts and roots of cultivated and wild Allium vienale L. and cultivated Allium sativum L. were chosen for the experiment. Quantities of malonyl- dialdehyde (MDA), superoxide (O 2 .À ) and hydroxyl (OH . ) radicals, reduced glutathione (GSH) and content of total flavonoids were determined. Contents of vitamin C and photosynthetic pigments were determined in the leaves of plants investigated. The lipid peroxidation (LP) was measured by the thiobarbituric acid (TBA) method (Placer et al., 1968). Values were given as equivalent amounts of malonyl- dialdehyde (MDA); the calibration curve was prepared with malonyldialdehyde bis-(diethylacetal) (Novak et al., 1990). Superoxide radical was studied by the inhibition of adrenaline autooxidation (Misra and Fridovich, 1972). Hydroxyl radical was measured by the inhibition of deoxyribose degradation (Cheesman et al, 1988). The GSH quantity was determined with Ellman reagent (Sedlak and Lindsay, 1968). Total flavonoids were estimated according to Marckam (1989). Pigments were extracted with acetone and determined spectrophotometrically using molar extinc- tion coefficients according to Wettstein (1957). Content of vitamin C was determined according AOAC Official Methods of Analysis (1984). Statistical analysis. The values are expressed as mean - Æ standard error. PHYTOTHERAPY RESEARCH, VOL. 12, S13–S14 (1998) CCC 0951–418X/98/0S0S13–02 $17.50 # 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. * Correspondence to: D. S ˇ tajner, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovic ´a 8, 21000 Novi Sad, Yugoslavia. Revised 2 October 1997 Accepted 18 October 1997