An antibacterial assay of aqueous extract of garlic against anaerobic/microaerophilic and aerobic bacteria

Abstract

Both the minimum inhibitory and minimum bactericidal concentration (expressed in terms of thiosulphinate concentration) of an aqueous extract of garlic was determined against nine species of bacteria. Helicobacter pylori proved to be extremely sensitive to garlic extract, whilst Bacteroides fragilis, Clostridium perfringens, Enterobacter cloacae, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus all were moderately sensitive to the garlic extract treatment. Leuconostoc mesenteroides was used as a known resistant control to the action of garlic extracts. Both S. aureus and a methicillin-resistant strain of S. aureus were found to be equally inhibited by garlic.