Analysis of Garlic Cultivars Using Head Space Solid Phase Microextrac-tion/Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectroscopy

Garlic has been widely used throughout history as a food additive for both its flavor and medicinal effects. The actual sulfide compounds found in garlic as well as the potential health benefits associated with garlic have been extensively studied. It has been shown that garlic preparation, growing conditions and cook- ing techniques, have a profound effect on the compounds present and the medicinal qualities afforded. Con- sidering the number of garlic cultivars available and the large focus on growing food organically, differentia- tion between different garlic cultivars would be useful. Using SPME and GC-MS the sulfur compounds pre- sent in a variety of garlic types where identified and quantified. Principal component analysis enabled the dif- ferentiation of the cultivars studied and in one case the differentiation of Organic and Non-Organically grown soft neck garlic.