Background Allium species are widely used in cooking. They possess antioxidant and antimicrobial activities, which may be due to the sulfur compounds they contain. This study examined the correlation between the active compounds of Allium species and their biological activities. Methods Extracts from five Allium species grown in Taiwan— A. sativum , A. fistulosum , A. tuberosum , A. fistulosum , and A. cepa —were prepared using commonly available commercially alcohols in Taiwan: rice wine (19RW), front distillation of rice wine (34PRW), 38% kaoliang wine (38KL), and 58% kaoliang wine (58KL). The total phenol content and allicin content of the extracts were measured, and their antioxidant activity and antibacterial activity against common clinical pathogens were evaluated. Results The A. fistulosum extracts exhibited the highest total phenol content, and the Allium extracts derived using 34PRW and 38KL had the highest allicin content. All the Allium extracts had favorable antioxidant capacity, with A. fistulosum , A. sativum , and A. tuberosum exhibiting the highest DPPH free radical scavenging rate, TEAC, and SOD antioxidant capacity, respectively. The A. fistulosum extracts had a statistically significant increase in the DPPH free radical scavenging rate and total phenol content, the A. sativum extracts showed a significant difference in TEAC, and the A. tuberosum extracts exhibited a significant difference in SOD antioxidant activity. The sulfur compounds in the Allium species were found to be positively correlated with both the species’ antioxidant and antibacterial activities. Conclusions These findings demonstrate that the antioxidant and antibacterial activities of Allium species are closely linked to their sulfur compounds and that differences among species are reflected in specific antioxidant parameters.
Chang et al. (2026) studied this question.