Heat treatment may effectively
increase or decrease the potency of some of the active components
in garlic. Aged garlic formulations generally involve a long-term
heating procedure; however, raw garlic can be heated for a short
time in a microwave to reduce its strong odor. Both short-term
and long-term heating are likely to change the active components
in garlic. Allicin is an organosulfur compound in garlic that possesses
anti-inflammatory properties (Lang et al., 2004; Petrovska
and Cekovska, 2010). However, allicin, which is responsible for
the strong odor, is destabilized by short-term heating because of
its reactivity (Block, 1985; Yu and Wu, 1989).