Garlic is one of the important bulb crops grown and used as spice and condiment throughout India. It possesses a high nutritive value and medicinal property. Allicin, the principle of garlic has antibiotic properties. The plant is a small herb and produces a group of small bulbs called cloves covered with a thin skin. The seed stalks bears both seeds and bulblets in the same head. However, seed is seldom used for propagation as the cloves are more commonly used.
Oil is one of the three major classes of food substances; the others are protein and carbohydrates. Garlic oils are naturally occurring esters of glycerol and fatty acids that have commercial uses, some oils are called trimester examples are triglycerides or simple glycerides. The physical and chemical properties of garlic oilsare determined to a large extent by the type of fatty acids in the glycerides. In all commercially important glycerides, the fatty acids are straight chain and nearly all contain even number of carbon atoms.
Garlic is taken orally to reduce high blood pressure, prevent heart disease and artherosclerosis, treat earaches, stimulate both the immune and circulatory systems and prevent cancer. Other applications include treating diabetes, arthritis, colds and flu, fighting stress and fatigue and maintaining healthy liver function. Garlic also contains protein and the B vitamins thiamin and riboflavin, and trace minerals such as zinc, tin, calcium, potassium, aluminium, germanium, selenium and of course, sulfur.
The increasing importance of natural extracts as pharmaceutical & natural cosmetic aid and their use as nutraceutical ingredients in recent times has opened up new vistas for this sector besides their widespread use as flavour & fragrance ingredients. India will play a dominant role in the production & processing of these natural extracts. Country's biodiversity coupled with competent scientific force, make our country as the best choice to become a foremost leader in aroma business in the coming years. Thus it is a good project for investment.
Few Indian Major Players are as under
• Aarkay Food Products Ltd.
• Absolute Aromatics Ltd.
• Aico Foods Ltd.
• Basil Chemicals & Additives Ltd.
• Bhagat Aromatics Ltd.
• Concert Spices & Exports Ltd.
• Enjayes Natural Flavours Ltd.
• Enjayes Spices & Chemical Oils Ltd.
• Kancor Ingredients Ltd.
• Keva Biotech Pvt. Ltd.
• Privi Organics Ltd.
• R K S Agrotech Ltd.
• S H Kelkar & Co. Ltd.
• Sharp Global Ltd.
• Sijmak Oils Ltd.
• South East Agro Inds. Ltd.
• Tamilnadu Forest Plantation Corpn. Ltd.
