Scientists Discover Simple New Remedy for Garlic Breath
By OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
New
research uncovers proteins in particular have a strong deodorizing effect.
A
recent discovery suggests that yogurt might have a previously unknown benefit:
eliminating garlic odors.
A
new study conducted in a lab – with follow-up human breath tests being planned
– indicates that whole milk plain yogurt prevented almost all of the volatile
compounds responsible for garlic’s pungent scent from escaping into the air.
Researchers
tested the garlic deodorizing capacity of yogurt and its individual components
of water, fat, and protein to see how each stood up to the stink. Both fat and
protein were effective at trapping garlic odors, leading the scientists to
suggest high-protein foods may one day be formulated specifically to fight
garlic breath.
The Potential of High-Protein Foods
“High
protein is a very hot thing right now – generally, people want to eat more
protein,” said senior study author Sheryl Barringer, professor
of food science and technology at The Ohio State University.
“An
unintended side benefit may be a high-protein formulation that could be
advertised as a breath deodorizer in addition to its nutritional claims,” she
said. “I was more excited about the protein’s effectiveness because consumer
advice to eat a high-fat food is not going to go over well.”
The
study was published recently in the journal Molecules.
Past
Discoveries and Experiment Methodology
Barringer
has a history of identifying foods that can combat garlic breath, among
them apples, mint and lettuce, and milk, thanks to their enzymes and fat,
respectively, that snuff out the sulfur-based compounds that cause garlic’s
persistent smell.
After
encountering speculation that yogurt might have a deodorizing effect, Barringer
and first author Manpreet Kaur, a PhD student in her lab, decided to check
it out.
For
each treatment experiment, the researchers placed equal amounts of raw garlic
in glass bottles and confirmed the cluster of offending sulfur-based volatiles
was released in concentrations that would be detected by the human nose. They
used mass spectrometry to measure levels of the volatile molecules in gaseous
form present before and after each treatment.
Findings
and Results
Results
showed that yogurt alone reduced 99% of the major odor-producing raw garlic
volatiles. When introduced separately, the fat, water, and protein components
of yogurt also had a deodorizing effect on raw garlic, but fat and protein
performed better than water.
In
the case of fat, a higher quantity of butter fat was more effective at
deodorization. The proteins studied included different forms of whey, casein,
and milk proteins, all of which were effective at deodorizing garlic – likely
because of their ability to trap the volatile molecules before they were
emitted into the air. A casein micelle-whey protein complex performed the best.
The
Role of Proteins and pH
“We
know proteins bind flavor – a lot of times that’s considered a negative,
especially if a food with high protein has less flavor. In this case, it could
be a positive,” Barringer said.
Additional
experiments involving changing the pH of the yogurt to make it less acidic –
from 4.4 pH to 7 pH – reduced the yogurt’s deodorization effect on the garlic.
Changing the pH of water, on the other hand, did not make any difference in
water’s deodorization effect.
“That’s telling me it goes back to those proteins because as you change pH you change the configuration of proteins and their ability to bind. That said we definitely should be looking at these proteins,” Barringer said.
“It probably
depends on the protein, as well, because different proteins react differently
to pH. So that may be an important thing as we look at other proteins for their
garlic deodorization effect.”
Further
Investigations
Barringer and Kaur tested the deodorizing effect of yogurt and its separate components on fried garlic as well, and in the process, they discovered that frying garlic alone significantly reduces most of garlic’s odor-causing volatile compounds.
Yogurt and its individual ingredients neutralized a lower percentage of
volatile compounds of fried garlic compared to raw garlic, presumably because
there were fewer volatiles to trap than were present in the raw cloves, the
researchers theorized.
The
findings are a good foundation for future studies analyzing a variety of
proteins that might be formulated into the perfect garlic-breath-reducing
product and seeking to verify yogurt’s ability to curb actual garlic breath in
people.
In
the meantime, Barringer predicts that Greek yogurt, with a higher protein
profile than the whole milk plain yogurt used in the study, may be particularly
effective at getting rid of garlic breath. Fruit-flavored yogurts will probably
work, too, she said – and whatever is used, it must quickly follow ingestion of
raw garlic.
“With
apples, we have always said to eat them immediately,” she said. “The same with
yogurt is presumed to be the case – have your garlic and eat the yogurt right
away.”
Reference:
“Effect of Yogurt and Its Components on the Deodorization of Raw and Fried
Garlic Volatiles” by Manpreet Kaur and Sheryl Barringer, 28 July 2023, Molecules.
DOI:
10.3390/molecules28155714
