In Terms Of Garlic Benefits, Fresh Is Best

 fresh preserved vegetable(WebMD) The next time you serve your favorite Italian dish, considerditching the bottled garlic and opt for fresh garlic instead. Fresh garlic may be better for you, according to new researchpublished in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Researchers in Japan compared fresh garlic with garlic preserved inwater, alcohol, and vegetable oil, specifically measuring a keyingredient called allicin. Allicin is the main active ingredient ingarlic and the chemical responsible for its characteristic smell. Allicin is widely promoted for its antibacterial properties. Somestudies have shown that allicin helps fight infections and may helpprevent bacteria-related food poisoning. Other research hassuggested that the compound can help against blood clots andcertain cancers. Allicin is fragile and disappears quickly, leading the study'sresearchers to question whether various storage methods wouldaffect its levels. The team's experiments revealed that fresh crushed garlic is morestable and maintains higher levels of allicin than preservedversions. Garlic stored in water at room temperature is better than garlicpreserved in vegetable oil. Allicin levels decreased by about halfafter about six days in water, but the vegetable-oil storage methodrobbed garlic of half its allicin in a few hours. Garlic's antibacterial properties declined as allicin levelsdropped. However, researchers believe the allicin breaks down intocompounds that may still be helpful.