Garlic Extract and Allicin: Broad Spectrum Antibacterial Agents Effective Against Multiple Drug Resistant Strains of Shigella dysenteriae type 1 and Shigella flexneri, Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and Vibrio cholerae

The effects of an aqueous extract of garlic and its active constituent allicin were tested against 40 drug resistant isolates of the strains of Shigella dysenteriae type 1 and Shigella flexneri, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and Vibrio cholerae. The aqueous extract and allicin were shown to have potentially significant activity against all of the bacteria tested, while of the five standard antibiotics, only gentamicin was active. Both allicin and the aqueous extract had a broad spectrum as antibacterial agents. Allicin appeared to have the strongest activity compared with that of the extract and the standard antibiotics.