Elephant Black Garlic’s Beneficial Properties for Hippocampal Neuronal Network, Chemical Characterization and Biological Evaluation
Javiera Gavilán,
Claudia Mardones,
Gabriela Oyarce,
Sergio Triviño,
Nicole Espinoza-Rubilar,
Oscar Ramírez-Molina,
Claudia Pérez,
José Becerra,
Patricio Varas,
Robinson Duran-Arcos,
Carola Muñoz-Montesino,
Gustavo Moraga-Cid,
Gonzalo E. Yévenes,
Jorge Fuentealba
Affiliations
Javiera Gavilán
Departmento de Fisiologia, Facultad de Ciencias Biologicas, Universidad de Concepcion, Concepción P.O. Box 160-C, Chile
Claudia Mardones
Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Concepcion, Concepción P.O. Box 160-C, Chile
Gabriela Oyarce
Laboratorio de Quimica de Productos Naturales, Facultas de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanograficas, Universidad de Concepcion, Concepción P.O. Box 160-C, Chile
Sergio Triviño
Laboratorio de Quimica de Productos Naturales, Facultas de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanograficas, Universidad de Concepcion, Concepción P.O. Box 160-C, Chile
Nicole Espinoza-Rubilar
Departmento de Fisiologia, Facultad de Ciencias Biologicas, Universidad de Concepcion, Concepción P.O. Box 160-C, Chile
Oscar Ramírez-Molina
Departmento de Fisiologia, Facultad de Ciencias Biologicas, Universidad de Concepcion, Concepción P.O. Box 160-C, Chile
Claudia Pérez
Laboratorio de Quimica de Productos Naturales, Facultas de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanograficas, Universidad de Concepcion, Concepción P.O. Box 160-C, Chile
José Becerra
Laboratorio de Quimica de Productos Naturales, Facultas de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanograficas, Universidad de Concepcion, Concepción P.O. Box 160-C, Chile
Patricio Varas
Melimei Agricultural Company, Ancud PC 5710325, Chile
Robinson Duran-Arcos
Departmento de Fisiologia, Facultad de Ciencias Biologicas, Universidad de Concepcion, Concepción P.O. Box 160-C, Chile
Carola Muñoz-Montesino
Departmento de Fisiologia, Facultad de Ciencias Biologicas, Universidad de Concepcion, Concepción P.O. Box 160-C, Chile
Gustavo Moraga-Cid
Departmento de Fisiologia, Facultad de Ciencias Biologicas, Universidad de Concepcion, Concepción P.O. Box 160-C, Chile
Gonzalo E. Yévenes
MinusPain, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Concepcion, Concepción P.O. Box 160-C, Chile
Jorge Fuentealba
Departmento de Fisiologia, Facultad de Ciencias Biologicas, Universidad de Concepcion, Concepción P.O. Box 160-C, Chile
Garlic has been used for decades as an important food and additionally for its beneficial properties in terms of nutrition and ancestral therapeutics. In this work, we compare the properties of fresh (WG) and aged (BG) extract obtained from elephant garlic, harvested on Chiloe Island, Chile. BG was prepared from WG with a 20-day aging process under controlled temperature and humidity conditions. We observed that in BG, compounds such as diallyl disulfide decrease, and compounds of interest such as 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (69%), diallyl sulfide (17%), 3H-1,2-Dithiole (22%) and 4-Methyl-1,2,3-trithiolane (16%) were shown to be increased. Using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH, BG: 51 ± 5.7%, WG: 12 ± 2.6%) and 2,20-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6 sulfonate) diammonium salt (ABTS, BG: 69.4 ± 2.3%, WG: 21 ± 3.9%) assays, we observed that BG possesses significantly higher antioxidant activity than WG and increased cell viability in hippocampal slices (41 ± 9%). The effects of WG and BG were shown to improve the neuronal function through an increased in intracellular calcium transients (189 ± 4%). In parallel, BG induced an increase in synaptic vesicle protein 2 (SV-2; 75 ± 12%) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF; 32 ± 12%) levels. Thus, our study provides the initial scientific bases to foster the use of BG from Chiloe Island as a functional food containing a mixture of bioactive compounds that may contribute to brain health and well-being.