Sensory-guided Design of Garlic Using tea and Identification of key active components

Garlic is widely used as a condiment, yet its sulfur-derived odor persists long after consumption, often limiting sensory acceptance. Using common dietary components to modulate garlic odor is viewed as a promising sensory-guided design strategy for garlic. In this study, we compared the odor characteristics and volatile compositions of original garlic paste, distilled water-treated garlic paste, and tea aqueous extract-treated garlic paste through sensory evaluation and chemical analysis. The results demonstrated that tea treatment significantly inhibited the formation of 12 key sulfur-containing compounds, including diallyl disulfide and thiophene derivatives, resulting in a 37.10% reduction in total sulfur-containing volatiles. Using diallyl disulfide as a representative odor-active compound and its clearance rate as an indicator, tea polyphenols were identified as the primary contributors to odor modulation. Rather than simply eliminating odor, tea-mediated interactions provided a chemical basis for the sensory-guided design of garlic odor characteristics.