Allium chemistry: identification of organosulfur compounds in ramp (allium tricoccum) homogenatesfn1fn1Dedicated with best wishes to Professor G. H. Neil Towers on the occasion of his 75th birthday.

Supercritical fluid (SF) extracts of homogenized ramp (Allium tricoccum Ait.) were separated and characterized with liquid chromatography coupled with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometric identification. The profiles of SF extracts of aqueous homogenates of ramp bulbs from three different seasons and growing regions revealed that the thiosulfinates were major components. In addition, some of the cepaenes (alpha-sulfinyldisulfides) found in extracts of onion juice, as well as allyl containing cepaenes (2-propenyl 1-(2-propenylsulfinyl)propyl disulfide), are present in the ramp extracts. The amount of allicin in ramp bulb homogenates ranged from approximately 10% to 50% of that found in extracts of aqueous garlic homogenates. The greater amount of the methyl l-propenyl thiosulfinates in the ramp extracts relative to that found in the garlic extracts correlates with the flavor characteristics of ramp bulbs. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.