ANALYSIS OF PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS, PHYTOSTEROLS, LIGNANS AND STILBENOIDS IN GARLIC AND GINGER OIL BY GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY

The phenolic compounds, phytosterols, lignans, stilbenoids alongside the physicochemical, proximate and fatty acid composition of garlic and ginger obtained from a local farm in Nigeria were determined. We set out to confirm the presence of bioactive substances in these samples as found in our locality with the aim of dispelling or confirming previously stated bioactive substances obtained from same samples but from different regions of the world. Gas chromatography analysis revealed that the major phenolic compound in the samples was caffeic acid. The result of the analysis of phytosterol in the samples showed sistosterol as the major phytosterol in them. Analysis of the lignans showed that (9E, 12E, 15E)- 9,12,15- octadecatrien-1-ol was the major lignan, occurring up to 46% in the samples. Determination of the stilbenes showed that resveratrol was the major stilbenes present in them while unsaturated fatty acids were the major fatty acids present in the samples. These findings showed that the samples contained similar bioactives compounds alongside some additional bioactive compounds that were not detected in the previous studies.? These findings further highlight high proportion of bioactive compounds in these samples especially lignans and stilbenes which may be of value in many biological processes and medical conditions such as in reducing the risk of cancer in humans.