The sulfur-containing compound in garlic is one of the main compounds that imparts physiological activity to garlic, additionally, a water-soluble sulfur-containing amino acid - S-allyl cysteine (SAC) is regarded that a sulfur-containing amino acid having mainly physiological activity. However, in fresh garlic, when the cell space is broken by cutting, grinding and crushing, the γ-GTP located in the vacuole can hydrolyze the sulfur-containing amino acid GSAC located in the cytoplasm to form SAC. Therefore, the present technology enhances the SAC content in garlic by two-step physical processing pretreatment. The results showed that two-step physical processing pretreatment such as freezing treatment, ultrasonic treatment, and high hydrostatic pressure treatment, the content of γ-GTP activity and SAC both can be increased. This study demonstrates that two-step physical processing can promote the activity of γ-GTP activity in garlic and destroy the structure of garlic, thereby increasing the effect of SAC in garlic. This technology can increase the SAC content in garlic by about 7-10 times.

Garlic; Two-step Physical Processing; S-allyl Cysteine; γ-glutamyltransferase