Preliminary Comparative Chemical Profiles and Cytotoxic Activities of Two Philippine Allium sativum Linn. Varieties: Ilocos White and Native

Abstract

Background: Aside from its culinary uses, garlic (Allium sativum), locally known as “bawang”, is a
widely cultivated herb with numerous medicinal properties, including antibacterial, antihypertensive, cytotoxic, and anticancer, among others.

Objectives: This study aimed to compare the metabolites present in two Philippine garlic varieties - Ilocos White and Native - and evaluate their cytotoxicity to HCT116 colon cancer cell line.

Methods: Ethanolic extracts of the garlic varieties were profiled for metabolite content using an ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry
(UPLC-QTOF). The extracts were then tested for HCT116 cytotoxicity through the MTT proliferation assay.

Results: Twenty-eight putatively identified compounds were found common to the two varieties of garlic; eight are possibly unique to Ilocos White and four to the Native variety. The metabolites include organosulfur compounds, biosynthetic precursors, and small peptides. Ilocos White had half as much organosulfur compounds and thrice fatty acyl metabolites as the Native variety. Ilocos White exhibited mild cytotoxicity to HCT116 at 1 ug/uL in contrast with the Native variety, which exhibited cell proliferative activity.

Conclusion: The preliminary study yielded data showing similarities and differences in chemical
profiles, as well as cytotoxic activities of two local varieties of garlic, Ilocos White and Native. UPLC-QTOF MS, as a platform for metabolite profiling, enabled putative identification of unique compounds with potential use as chemotaxonomic markers. Future work includes fragmentation analysis for validation of compound identities.