Garlic was found to be 100 times more effective than antibiotics in the case of diseases causing bacteria, commonly food- borne infections, according to the research conducted at the Washington State University.
The findings of these researchers were published in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, which followed the author’s previous work on Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
These findings state that garlic in its concentrated form is extremely powerful in preventing the growth of disease-causing bacteria, C. jejuni bacteria.
Garlic is one the most versatile and beneficial foods we can use. Due to this, people who consume Mediterranean diet are extremely healthy.
Xiaonan Lu, a postdoctoral researcher and lead- author of the paper states, “This work is very thrilling to me because it shows that this compound has the potential to reduce disease-causing bacteria in the environment and in our food supply.”
Moreover, garlic has been used for thousands of years in order to eliminate bacteria and viruses. In 1858, Louis Pasteur discovered that garlic kills bacteria. Since the middle ages, this vegetable has been used to inhibit the spread of infections due to bacteria or virus.
It has also been used to treat injuries, by its direct application, whether in slices or ground, to the affected area. Russian people call it ” Russian penicillin”, due to its innumerable health benefits.
The co-author of the research paper, Michael Konkel, who has been actively examining Campylobacterjejuni for 25 years, also stated, “This is the first step in developing or thinking about new intervention strategies. Campylobacter is one of the most common bacteria that causes food- borne diseases in the United States or should say in the whole world.”
The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reports that around 2.4 million people in the U.S. experience symptoms of stomachache, fever, diarrhoea, and cramping. Moreover, the Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare case of paralysis, is also a result of bacteria.
Garlic and some other members of Allium genus contain an organosulfur compound, known as Diallyl disulfide, created during the breakdown of allicin when garlic is squashed.
The team of researchers evaluated the ability of diallyl sulfide to destroy the bacterium when protected by a slimy bio film, which makes the work of antibiotics 1,000 times more difficult than the free- floating bacterial cell. They discovered that diallyl sulfide easily pierces through the walls of the layer and strikes the bacteria cell. Namely, it combines with a sulphur-containing enzyme, and changes its function and successfully prevents cell metabolism.
Findings demonstrated that diallyl sulfide is 100 times more effective than some of the best antibiotics, like erythromycin and ciprofloxacin. Moreover, it generally acts extremely quickly.
Lu and WSU colleagues published two other works in Applied and Environmental Microbiology and Analytical Chemistry last year. These works showed that diallyl sulfide and other organosulfur compounds destroy important food-borne pathogens, likeEscherichia Coli O157: H7 and Listeria monocytogenes.
Konkel commented “Diallyl sulfide may be useful in reducing the levels of the Campylobacter in the environment and to clean industrial food processing equipment, as the bacterium is found in a biofilm in both settings.”
Barbara Rasco, one of the co-authors of all the three papers and Lu’s advisor for his doctorate in food science, stated that garlic contains Diallyl sulfide which makes the food safer to consume.
She claims “Garlic can also be used to clean food preparation surfaces. It can also be used as preservatives in food packaging like potato and pasta salads, coleslaw and deli meats.”
At the same time, these useful habits will prevent bacteria growth.
Source: healam.com
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