Garlic Revisited: Antimicrobial Activity of Allicin-Containing Garlic Extracts against Burkholderia cepacia Complex
Open accessAbstract
The antimicrobial activities of garlic and other plant alliums are primarily based on allicin, a thiosulphinate present in crushed garlic bulbs. We set out to determine if pure allicin and aqueous garlic extracts (AGE) exhibit antimicrobial properties against the Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc), the major bacterial phytopathogen for alliums and an intrinsically multiresistant and life-threatening human pathogen. We prepared an AGE from commercial garlic bulbs and used HPLC to quantify the amount of allicin therein using an aqueous allicin standard (AAS). Initially we determined the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of the AGE against 38 Bcc isolates; these MICs ranged from 0.5 to 3% (v/v). The antimicrobial activity of pure allicin (AAS) was confirmed by MIC and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) assays against a smaller panel of five Bcc isolates; these included three representative strains of the most clinically important species, B. cenocepacia. Time kill assays, in the presence of ten times MIC, showed that the bactericidal activity of AGE and AAS against B. cenocepacia C6433 correlated with the concentration of allicin. We also used protein mass spectrometry analysis to begin to investigate the possible molecular mechanisms of allicin with a recombinant form of a thiol-dependent peroxiredoxin (BCP, Prx) from B. cenocepacia. This revealed that AAS and AGE modifies an essential BCP catalytic cysteine residue and suggests a role for allicin as a general electrophilic reagent that targets protein thiols. To our knowledge, we report the first evidence that allicin and allicin-containing garlic extracts possess inhibitory and bactericidal activities against the Bcc. Present therapeutic options against these life-threatening pathogens are limited; thus, allicin-containing compounds merit investigation as adjuncts to existing antibiotics.
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Garlic protects against gentamycin- as well as acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity by improving antioxidant status and regulating oxidative stress.
“It is demonstrated that garlic protects against gentamycin- as well as acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity by improving antioxidant status, and regulating oxidative stress [50].”
From Chemical Constituents and Pharmacological Activities of Garlic (Allium sativum L.): A Review (2020) · cites this paper as [50]
Allicin showed effectiveness toward methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA).
“Allicin also showed effectiveness toward methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) [50].”
From Chemical Constituents and Pharmacological Activities of Garlic (Allium sativum L.): A Review (2020) · cites this paper as [50]
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- Authors
- Wallock-Richards, D., Doherty, C. J., Doherty, L., Clarke, D. J., Place, M., Govan, J. R. W., & Campopiano, D. J.
- Affiliations
- University of Edinburgh (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Govan, John R. W.
- Campopiano, Dominic J.
- Venue
- PLoS ONE
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)
- Published
- 2014-12-01
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- e112726
- ISSN
- 1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4249831
- OpenAlex
- W2156537511
- Cited by
- 151
- References
- 51
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 2 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 6.61
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Edinburgh Research Explorer (University of Edinburgh) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- University of Edinburgh
- Directorate for Biological Sciences
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/I013687/1)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Garlic and Onion Studies
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Essential Oils and Antimicrobial Activity
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Burkholderia infections and melioidosis
- Keywords
- allicin, garlic extract, Burkholderia cepacia complex, Burkholderia cenocepacia, antimicrobial activity, minimum inhibitory concentration, minimum bactericidal concentration, protein thiol modification, electrophilic reagents, plant pathogenic bacteria, multidrug resistance
- MeSH terms
- Anti-Bacterial Agents, Disulfides, Garlic, Plant Extracts, Sulfinic Acids, Water, Burkholderia cepacia complex
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