Isolation of Garlic Components by Reversed-Phase Chromatography (PRP-C18)
Cells beyond their sell-by date exhibit a higher probability to propagate damaged cellular components like DNA, which leads to disease. It is therefore necessary for the body to remove these old malfunctioning cells. One method the body uses to remove these cells is programmed cell death, or apoptosis. Garlic has shown a remarkable ability to induce apoptosis of damaged or malfunctioning cells in multiple studies.1 Induction of senescent cell death is not the only role garlic plays in the body. It has also been documented as providing proliferative benefits in the digestive, cardiac, and neural areas of the body. These wonder chemicals have shown positive affects in the fight against the number one killer of people in the United States: cardiac complications. The compounds in garlic inhibit the aggregation of platelets in the blood stream and reduce the likelihood of thrombotic events.
One of the major components of garlic extracts is allicin, which was shown to attenuate brain edema, neurologic deficits, and apoptotic neuronal death while exhibiting anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in neurons.2 In an ancillary study allicin was shown to modulate parasitic infection.3 Similarly, multiple studies have indicated that S-allylcysteine protected neurons from oxidative damage and cell death. One of the broad reaching capabilities of garlic compounds are the various mechanistic pathways that can be used to initiate the removal of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which are known to exacerbate cellular degeneration and lead to disease. To that end, the lipophilic compounds found in garlic indicate an ability to induce apoptosis in some neoplastic cell lines. While further studies indicate that oral ingestion of aqueous garlic extract enhanced apoptosis in mice with oral cancer.4
With a multitude of health applications, garlic separations appear to be a necessary quest. All of the active components of garlic are easily isolated using the 5 µm PRP-C18 HPLC column from Hamilton Company. Good peak shape is observed on both the hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions of the chromatogram. The beauty of garlic is the multitude of active components containing both lipophilic and lipophobic properties all combined into one clove. Isolation of any of the active components is easily achieved due to the high analyte loading capacity associated with this column, making it a great choice when scaling up from analytical to preparatory isolation is desired. An added benefit when using the PRP-C18 column is the ability to easily regenerate the column if previous separations had fouled the surface chemistry. The regeneration can restore the media back to the original peak shape and reproducibility, thereby enhancing the longevity and value of the column.
References:
- Wu X, Kassie F, Mersch-Sundermann V. Mutat Res. 2005; 589(2):81-102.
- Chen W, Qi J, Feng F, et al. Neurochem Int. 2014; 68:28-37.
- Shi H, Jing X, Wei X, et al. J Neurochem. 2015; 133(2):298-308.
- Zeng T, Zhang CL, Song FY, et al. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2013; 1830(10):4848-59.
Author: Adam L. Moore, PhD, Hamilton Company
