Investigating the antioxidant potential of garlic (Allium sativum) extracts through different extraction modes

Garlic (Allium sativum) possesses health promoting properties owing to the presence various phytochemicals. The current research was deigned to explore the phytochemicals and antioxidant capacity of Pakistani garlic. Garlic extracts were obtained using methanol, hexane and ethyl acetate at different time intervals (35, 50 and 65 min) followed by their polyphenols and flavonoid content determination. The outcomes revealed that the methanolic extracts obtained at 50 min extraction time showed maximum total phenolics as 60.38±0.23 mg GAE/100g and flavonoids as 58.45±1.24 mg/100g. Similarly, highest 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) activity (61.59±1.58%) and β-carotene and linoleic acid potential (64.96±1.72%) were also observed for methanolic extract. In conclusion, Pakistani garlic contains myriad of phenolics and flavonoids but the extraction of these components depends upon the solvent/time combination. In this study, methanol proved to be the ideal solvent for the maximum extraction of phytochemicals from garlic.