Increase in the permeability of tonoplast of garlic (Allium sativum) by monocarboxylic acids

Immersion of intact aged garlic (Allium sativum) cloves in a series of 5% weak organic monocarboxylate solutions (pH 2.0) resulted in green color formation. No color was formed upon treatment with other weak organic acids, such as citric and malic acids, and the inorganic hydrochloric acid under the same conditions. To understand the significance of monocarboxylic acids and their differing function from that of other acids, acetic acid was compared with organic acids citric and malic and the inorganic hydrochloric acid. The effects of these acids on the permeability of plasma and intracellular membrane of garlic cells were measured by conductivity, light microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Except for hydrochloric acid, treatment of garlic with all three organic acids greatly increased the relative conductivity of their respective pickling solutions, indicating that all tested organic acids increased the permeability of plasma membrane. Moreover, a pickling solution containing acetic acid exhibited 1.5-fold higher relative conductivity (approximately 90%) as compared to those (approximately 60%) of both citric and malic acids, implying that exposure of garlic cloves to acetic acid not only changed the permeability of the plasma membrane but also increased the permeability of intracellular membrane. Exposure of garlic to acetic acid led to the production of precipitate along the tonoplast, but no precipitate was formed by citric and malic acids. This indicates that the structure of the tonoplast was damaged by this treatment. Further support for this conclusion comes from results showing that the concentration of thiosulfinates which are produced only by catalytic conversion of S-alk(en)yl-l-cysteine sulfoxides in cytosol by alliinase located in the vacuole] in the acetic acid pickling solution is 1.3 mg/mL, but almost no thiosulfinates were detected in the pickling solution of citric and malic acids. Thus, all present results suggest that damage of tonoplast by treatment with monocarboxylates such as acetic acid may be the main reason for the greening of garlic.