Garlic is a functional food that contains inulin, a reserve polysaccharide, which helps in the control of pathogenic and putrefactive bacterial present in the intestine. The aim of this work was to evaluate a simple method for the extraction of garlic carbohydrates and to qualify and quantify the composition of the extract using high performance liquid chromatography and infrared spectroscopy using the standard inulin. The bulbs of garlic were submitted to a four-hour water extraction and the remaining liquid was separated by centrifugation and added to 300 mL of acetone. The isolated extract was evaluated in relation to its products of alkaline hydrolysis and the results indicate the presence of an oligosaccharide as observed for the standard inulin. The main characteristic bands of carbohydrate were identified in the range of 3600 - 3000 cm-1 and 1200 - 900cm-1. The technique used in this work can be applied for the inulin extraction since it aggregates value to the natural products generating alternatives from the economical point of view.
garlic extract; carbohydrates; inulin; chromatography; infrared spectroscopy
