2. Classification of Garlic Products

Unlike most foods, food-processing does miraculous things to garlic. It triggers the formation of a cascade of compounds that do not already exist in raw garlic. Therefore, processing is the key to increasing the benefits of garlic and to decreasing or eliminating its toxic effects. A variety of sulfur-containing compounds formed through chemical and biological reactions, in addition to non-sulfur compounds, work synergistically (and/or antagonistically) in their contribution to the benefits of garlic internally. Based on their chemical constituents, all garlic products on the market today could be placed in one of the following four categories:

These products offer minute amounts of garlic essential oil in a large amount of vegetable oil. They often express their "potencies" in theoretical amounts of raw garlic used to obtain the distilled garlic oil. There is no scientific data to show that the oil fraction represents all of the benefits of garlic. Garlic essential oil, which mainly contains several sulfides, is also the most potent source of garlic odor and causes body odor. In addition, garlic oils do not contain any of the important water-soluble compounds.

Chemically, there is almost no difference between the garlic flavoring powders sold at grocery stores and the garlic supplements made of garlic powder and then sold at health food stores. Often these manufacturers claim that their products deliver allicin into the body. Though no garlic supplement can contain allicin due to its instability and high reactivity, some garlic powder products contain alliin and the enzyme, alliinase, and, therefore, can produce allicin with the addition of water in a test tube (the so-called "allicin potential"). However, allicin potential is an empty promise. The environments in a test tube and in our body are totally different and there is no scientific evidence to support the idea that allicin can be produced in the stomach. Furthermore, garlic powder contains only a residual amount of the alliin found in raw garlic, i.e., more than half of the alliin is lost during the manufacturing process.

There are two types of oil macerate products on the market and both are packaged in soft gel capsules. One is made by simply mixing a garlic flavoring powder with vegetable oil. It's constituents are almost the same as the capsule and tablet forms of garlic powder. Another one is made by grounding raw garlic in vegetable oils. Since this type of product contains oil-soluble compounds (allicin break down products) and leftover alliin, it has a strong garlic odor. Both products are rich in fat -the major component being vegetable oil. Thus, they are not suitable for use as daily supplements.

KYOLIC begins with only organically grown garlic bulbs. This is essential for growing naturally balanced garlic because organic fertilizers produce an ideal ratio of essential nutrients in the raw garlic without any contamination by harmful chemicals including herbicides and pesticides. Then KYOLIC is gently aged to convert the harsh and irritating compounds in raw garlic to mild, stable and beneficial compounds. KYOLIC Aged Garlic Extract, is a totally balanced garlic supplement containing large amounts of essential water-soluble compounds and small amounts of oil-soluble compounds. KYOLIC is a sociable garlic and its safety and benefits have been confirmed by over 100 scientific studies. Furthermore, the bioavailability of its key compound, S-allyl cysteine, has been substantiated.

Type of product	Sulfur-containing compounds
Garlic Essential Oil	Oil-soluble sulfur compounds (DAS, DADS, etc.)
Garlic Powder	Alliin
Oil Macerate	Oil-soluble sulfur compounds and alliin
Aged Garlic Extract	Rich in a variety of water-soluble sulfur compounds (SAC, SAMC, etc.) and a small amount of oil-soluble sulfur compounds

Garlic powders and oils are ideal for flavoring foods. On the other hand, KYOLIC, by aging, extracting and stabilizing the essential compounds, has become the perfect health food that provides you with the full benefits of garlic, without the tell-tale odor or disagreeable after taste that oils or flavoring powders leave with you.

When selecting a garlic supplement, the manufacturing process is all important. The chemistry of garlic is quite complicated and different types of processing produce more than just preparations in different forms, i.e., powders, oils, or Aged Garlic Extract. These different forms contain different garlic compounds and may have different effects and toxicities. The garlic product that contains the most safe, stable, and odorless compounds is the most valuable as a supplement.