# Evaluation of Garlic Landraces from Foggia Province (Puglia Region; Italy)
## 3 Results and Discussion
### Phenolic Compounds  
Phenolic compounds are reported in Table 5. In the examined genotypes, the phenolic acids (six compounds) represented most of the total phenols (83% on average), and among them, fertile acid (524 mg kg\({}^{-1}\) dw, on average) was the most abundant, followed by the caffe acid derivates--caffeic acid-O-hexoside-1 (211 mg kg\({}^{-1}\) dw, on average) and caffeic acid-O-hexoside-2 (203 mg kg\({}^{-1}\) dw, on average). The flavonoid component (six compounds), represented 16% of the total phenols, and among them, iso-rhannetin (120 mg kg\({}^{-1}\) dw, on average) and rutoside-1 (60 mg kg\({}^{-1}\) dw, on average) were the most abundant. Less than 0.3% of total phenols were unknown compounds. A 3-hydroxy-methyl phenol was found only in the CG. Among the flavonoids, quercetol (quercetin), patuletin, hyperoside (hyperin), iso-quercitrin (quercetin 3-\(\beta\)-D-glucoside), and coumaroyl-quinic acid among the phenolic acids were detected at a very low rate (\(<\)0.5 unit). \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l c c c c c c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Phenols**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**RT**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**UV Max**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**[M-H]\({}^{-}\)**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**m/z ions**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Genotype \({}^{1}\)**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Significance**} \\ \cline{5-12}  & **(min)** & **(nm)** & & & & & & & & & & & & & \\ \hline Caffe acid-O-hexoside-1 [FOOTNOTE:1]Footnote 1: Refer to Table 1 for acronyms of garlic genotypes. \({}^{2}\) Significance—  
Except for cafratic and caffe acid-O-hexoside-1 acids, the genotype distinctively affected the concentrations and the profile of phenols. On average, the phenolic concentration in our landraces was much higher than in the CG (1230 vs. 533 mg kg\({}^{-1}\) dw), due to the high contribution of both components. The CG showed a very small amount of flavonoids (only quercetol). The high level of phenols in all landraces in comparison with the CG, could be explained as an effect associated with the genotype, but also with the environment [1], the pedo-climatic conditions of the growing site and the technical practices adopted by growers. It is well known that the biosynthesis of phenols/flavonoids is upregulated in response to a wide range of abiotic stresses/factors, ranging from nutrient depletion to cold and drought stress [44; 45], aiming to effectively counter the stress-induced oxidative damage. Thus, apart from the genotypic characteristics, the incidence of phenols in the landraces could be related to harsh growing conditions in terms of climate and/or to the scarce availability of nutrients/water, since no or low inputs (water, nutrients, chemicals) were provided by the landrace growers. The levels of phenolic compounds in our landraces were also substantially greater than that reported for Polish garlic (11.5 mg kg\({}^{-1}\) dw) [7] and particularly in phenolic acids (0.1-252.1 mg kg\({}^{-1}\) dw) [46], as well as for the local garlic from Namhae-gun (Korea) both in total phenolic acids (17.9 mg kg\({}^{-1}\) dw) and in flavonoids (29.9 mg kg\({}^{-1}\) dw) [47]. The antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative, and chemopreverities properties of phenolics and flavonoids in vegetables and Allium spp. [2; 48] are well known, thus the contribution of the observed landraces to the protection and preservation of human health should be emphasized due to their being very rich in these compounds. Among the examined landraces, 'Peschici' and 'Monteleone', followed by 'Cortigli' and 'Anzano' showed the highest total phenol concentrations. The most abundant compounds were ferulic acid along with caffe acid-O-hexoside-2 (phenolic acids) and iso-rhametin and rutinoside-1 (flavonoid compounds). In this study, we found significantly higher amounts of ferulic acid both in comparison with the tested GC and also compared with those found in several genotypes in Spain -3.5 mg kg\({}^{-1}\) dw in Almeria [49]; 0.9-7.3 mg kg\({}^{-1}\) dw in Andalusia [50]; and in Poland -0.3 mg kg\({}^{-1}\) dw [7].