# Protective Effects Induced by a Hydroalcoholic _Allium sativum_ Extract in Isolated Mouse Heart
## 3 Results and Discussion
### Colorimetric Analysis  
The color parameters and relative reflectance curves of the analyzed samples are reported in Table 4 and Figure 3.  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c} \hline  & \(\mathbf{L^{*}}\) & \(\mathbf{a^{*}}\) & \(\mathbf{b^{*}}\) & \(\mathbf{C^{*}}\) & \(\mathbf{h^{\circ}}\) & \(\mathbf{\Delta C^{*}}_{\mathbf{ab}}\) & \(\mathbf{\Delta h_{ab}}\) & \(\mathbf{\Delta E}\) \\ \hline
**Powder**t\({}^{\circ}\) & 90.15 & 0.47 & 16.02 & 16.03 & 88.32 & & \\ \hline
**Powder**t\({}^{\text{4m}}\) & 91.67 & 0.88 & 17.31 & 17.33 & 87.08 & 1.30 & \(-\)0.36 & \(-\)0.36 & \(1.11\) \\  & & & & & & Brighter & More red & \\ \hline
**Powder**t\({}^{\text{8m}}\) & 93.77 & 0.45 & 13.77 & 13.78 & 88.13 & \(-\)2.25 & \(-\)0.05 & \(-\)0.05 & \(1.98\) \\  & & & & & More opaque & More red & \\ \hline
**GHE** & 61.04 & \(-\)0.79 & 6.81 & 6.86 & 96.65 & \(-\)9.17 & 1.52 & \(1.52\) & \(12.06\) \\  & & & & & More opaque & More green & \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 4: Colorimetric CIEL*a*b* parameters of garlic powder and hydroalcoholic extract.  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline  & \multicolumn{4}{c}{**Hydroalcoholic Extract**} \\ \hline
**Compound** & **Class** & **Area\%** & **RI** & **RI\({}_{\text{L}}\)a** \\ Disobutyl phthalate & Other & 0.60 & 1883 & 1858 \\ Methyl palmitate & FAE & 2.07 & 1933 & 1925 \\ Ethyl palmitate & FAE & 2.14 & 2001 & 1993 \\ Methyl linoleate & FAE & 6.87 & 2103 & 2093 \\ FAE (unidentified) & FAE & 2.69 & 2107 & - \\ Ethyl linoleate & FAE & 4.76 & 2167 & 2164 \\ FAE (unidentified) & FAE & 3.63 & 2171 & - \\ Docosane & LA & 5.95 & 2202 & 2200 \\ Tricosane & LA & 11.98 & 2302 & 2300 \\ Tetracosane & LA & 16.48 & 2402 & 2400 \\ Pentacosane & LA & 12.75 & 2502 & 2500 \\ Hexacosane & LA & 6.31 & 2602 & 2600 \\ unknown & & 23.76 & & \\ \hline
**Class** & & & **Area\%** & \\ FAE & & 22.16 & & \\ LA & & & 53.47 & \\ \hline \end{tabular} \({}^{\text{a}}\) RI values reported in literature.  
\end{table}
Table 3: GC–MS analysis of hydroalcoholic garlic extract.  
The garlic powder showed a very bright (L* = 90.15) yellow color (b* = 16.02), which remains unvaried for the first four months of storage, at room temperature and in the darkness (t\({}^{\text{dm}}\), \(\Delta\)E = 1.11 in respect to the limit detectable for the human eye, recognized as \(\Delta\)E = 1.00). After another four months of storage, at t\({}^{\text{8m}}\), the color has undergone a slight discoloration (b* = 13.78 vs. 16.02 at t\({}^{\circ}\)), which could account for a slight carotenoid and/or polyphenol degradation. The presence of a little carotenoid content in _Allium_ spp. was previously reported [33], and we also reported the carotenoid bleaching in a shelf-life study on powdered infant milk formulas [34]. In regards to polyphenol compounds, these could contribute to an overall pale yellow color, as also reported in our previous study of crop and wild _Allium_ spp. [35]. These compounds also justify a color changing over time, due to their molecular structures and lability, as confirmed by the HPLC-DAD analysis (discussed below), which denotes the presence of flavonoid derivatives as main compounds. A paper reported flavonoid autoxidation as a cause of food instability [36], especially for food containing high levels of iron and copper ions, as garlic does, which favor the autoxidation processes.  
The analysis of the hydroalcoholic extract is only in part comparable to the previously obtained results [35], denoting a lesser yellow character (b* = 6.81 vs. 11-25 as previously found). Anyway, different parameters should be considered, since the expressed color could be deeply influenced by the different adopted solvent ratio and the correlated sample opacity, due to the presence of components that are only partially solubilized.