Inhibitory effect of garlic extract on multi-drug resistant organisms

ABSTRACT

Multi-drug resistant bacteria have become a major global healthcare problem in the twenty-first century thus an urgent need for products that act on novel molecular targets that circumvent resistance mechanisms, garlic is one of hundreds of plants that are used in traditional medicine as treatment for bacterial infections, In this study, we tried to uncover the effect of different concentrations of local Aqueous Garlic Extract [AGE] on Multi-drug organisms including Escheichia coli [ESBL],Klebsiella pneumonia [ESBL],Pseudomona aeruginosa,Acinitobacter spp, MRSA, by disk diffusion and agar well diffusion assay. All tested organisms were inhibited by AGE up to 25% concentration and the activity was a linear function of concentration. At 100%, the maximum zone of inhibition was observed against MRSA, a Gram positive organism and the minimum was against Klebsiella pneumonia [ESBL], a Gram-negative organism. This indicates that AGE has the potential of a broad spectrum of activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. In conclusion, the results of this study have provided scientific Justification for the use of local garlic extract in health products and herbal remedies against multidrug-resistant bacterial infections in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia