Kinetic Approach to Evaluating the Antifungal Performance of Dried Garlic for Application as Natural Agents in Food Preservation

Food deterioration is largely driven by microbial activity, particularly by fungi producing mycotoxins exhibiting mutagenic and carcinogenic effects. Garlic (Allium sativum L.), valued for its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties, is widely recognized as a natural food preservative; however, the high moisture content and intense respiration of freshly harvested garlic accelerate enzymatic degradation of its bioactive compounds, making post-harvest processing essential to preserve its functional properties. This study evaluated the preservative potential of convectively dried garlic (50–90 °C) by testing the antifungal activity of its extracts (6.3–0.8%) against Aspergillus parasiticus, while a modeling approach was employed to quantitatively describe this phenomenon. The antioxidant activity and rehydration capacity were also analyzed. The results demonstrated that both drying temperature and extract concentration significantly influenced fungal growth kinetics. The strongest inhibition was observed for extracts from raw garlic and garlic dried at 50 °C, whereas extracts from samples dried at 70–90 °C only partially suppressed the microbial activity. Predictive modeling accurately described fungal growth (MAE = 1.9, R2 = 0.995), enabling its application in optimizing food preservation strategies. Antioxidant activity was highest in raw garlic, decreased significantly in garlic dried at 50 °C, and then increased progressively with rising drying temperature. The study highlights the need to maintain a balance in drying conditions that ensures efficient drying kinetics while preserving bioactive, functional, and antifungal properties.