Biochemical and compositional variation among five Philippine garlic cultivars

Garlic is an economically important agricultural commodity in the Philippines due to its food and medicinal value.Local cultivars remain poorly characterized at the biochemical level, limiting varietal improvement and molecular breeding strategies.This study characterized the physical, biochemical, and elemental traits of Philippine garlic cultivars to establish genotype-specific baseline data.Five local cultivars -Batanes White (BW), Ilocos Pink (IP), Mexican (ME), Miracle (MI), and Tan Bolters (TB)-were evaluated under identical field conditions using phenotypic measurements, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy, atomic absorption spectroscopy, and reversetranscription quantitative polymerase chain reaction.No significant differences in phenotypic traits or alliinase transcript levels were observed among the cultivars (p > 0.05).In contrast, the FTIR spectra showed cultivar-related variation.Bands observed at 800-600 cm -1 in TB and IP were tentatively associated with organosulfur-related functional groups.Trace elements significantly differed among the five local garlic cultivars.IP recorded the highest Cu content at 10.9 ± 0.07 mg/kg, whereas the highest concentrations of Mn (3.68 ± 0.09 mg/kg), Fe (1.7 ± 0.06 mg/kg), and Pb (1.2 ± 0.17 mg/kg) were found in TB.MI had the highest concentration (4.04 mg/g), linked to polyhedral starch granules.These genotype-related differences provide useful baseline information to support breeding for future varietal improvement and to streamline cultivar-based utilization for food or health benefits.