Therapeutic compounds in garlic oil: production and evolution after preparation

Allyl sulfides, the main constituents of garlic oil, have been studied in the past decades for their effects against cancer. Since cancers are not all healed, ways to prevent it, especially with natural products that could be included in food preparation, are more than welcome. The synthesis and separation of allyl sulfides can provide larger amount of allyl sulfide than the extraction in order to make biological tests. Furthermore, the improvement of the synthesis conditions helps the understanding of the formation of allyl sulfide while garlic is processed. Finally, the study of the products allows a deeper understanding of the conversion between the allyl sulfides. A parallel can then be done with the conservation conditions of garlic-based products. The first part of this work describes the synthesis optimization using the design of experiment. The reaction of allyl bromide and sodium disulfide was carried under different conditions: the reaction duration, the heating (in microwave oven or in oil bath, at different temperature), the presence of catalyst, and the agitation were assessed. In the second part of the study, extractions are performed on garlic. The composition of the extracts is followed during time under the conditions established in the first part. The results give an optimized way to synthesize allyl sulfides, as much as an idea of the reactions happening on them in garlic preparations under various conditions.