For Healthy Garlic, Crush Before Cooking
Claudio R. Galmarini and colleagues in Argentina and the United States are reporting new evidence that crushing garlic before cooking can reduce the loss of garlic's healthful properties. In a report scheduled for the March 7 edition of ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a bi-weekly publication, they note that many past studies of garlic and health used raw garlic. The new study joins a handful or others to examine how the heat of cooking affects the chemical compounds associated with garlic's beneficial health effects.
The researchers found that even a few minutes of cooking reduces levels of those compounds. The reduction is steepest in whole garlic, and less pronounced in garlic that has been crushed before cooking. Crushing or chopping garlic releases an enzyme, alliinase, that catalyzes the formation of allicin, which then breaks down to form a variety of healthful organosulfur compounds. The researchers believe that crushing garlic before cooking may allow alliinase to work before cooking inactivates the enzyme. Their report notes that allowing crushed garlic to stand for 10 minutes before cooking may further enhance formation of those compounds before heat inactivates alliinase.
"Effect of Cooking on Garlic (Allium sativum L.) Antiplatelet Activity and Thiosulfinates Content"
CONTACT:
Claudio R. Galmarini, Ph.D.
INTA-EEA La Consulta and CONICET
Mendoza, Argentina
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Article adapted by Start Sanatate from original press release.
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ACS News Service
The American Chemical Society - the world's largest scientific society - is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
Contact: Michael Woods
American Chemical Society
Pentru sãnãtoºi, usturoi, Crush înainte de gatire - For Healthy Garlic, Crush Before Cooking - articole medicale engleza - startsanatate