Garlic and chronic infections

Garlic has long been a common ingredient used in cooking, native to Central Asia and Iran it has been used worldwide for thousands of years.  Now a new study from the University of Copenhagen has found that a compound in garlic can be used to fight bacteria in patients with chronic infections. 

The study is the latest from a research group set up in 2005 that has been focusing on garlic’s effect on bacteria.  In 2012 the group identified a compound called ajoene, a sulphurous compound found in garlic.  The researchers found that ajoene was able to inhibit certain forms of bacteria. 

The study published in the journal Scientific Reports found that two types of bacteria staphylococcus aureus and pseudomonas aeruginosa, types of bacteria belonging to different families of bacteria and both notoriously difficult to treat, showed signs of been weakened by the garlic compound.

The researchers are now working with a private company to further develop a new series of antimicrobials. 

NOTE:  Scientific Reports is an online, open access journal from the publishers of Nature, an international journal of science.