Hypochlorous acid scavenging capacity of garlic

The ability of the following aqueous garlic extracts to scavenge hypochlorous acid (HOCl) was studied: (a) unheated extract of raw garlic (RG), (b) heated extract of raw garlic (HRG), (c) extract of boiled garlic cloves (BG) and (d) extract of microwave-treated garlic cloves (MG). The HOCl scavenging activity was evaluated following changes in the absorption spectrum of catalase (370-450 nm). RG, HRG and BG scavenged HOCl in a concentration-dependent way: the IC(50) (mg/mL) values for RG, HRG and BG were 0.339 +/- 0.028, 0.632 +/- 0.030 and 0.690 +/- 0.031, respectively. The HOCl scavenging ability of garlic was significantly decreased when garlic cloves or the extract of raw garlic were heated (BG and HRG, respectively); this scavenging ability was eliminated when garlic was subjected to microwave heating (MG). The IC(50) value for the reference compound, ascorbic acid, was 0.500 +/- 0.049 mg/mL. In summary, raw garlic concentration-dependently scavenged HOCl; this ability was eliminated in extracts of microwave-treated garlic cloves but not in heated extracts of raw garlic or extracts of boiled garlic cloves.