Abstract: Garlic (Allium sativum) has an important dietary and medicinal role for centuries. It is a large annual plant of the Liliaceae family, which grows in most of Africa and in Ethiopia. Ethiopian garlic is used in traditional medicine for infectious disease and some other cases. The present study tested the aqueous extract of garlic in vitro for its antibacterial activity. The extract showed concentration dependent antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus. The traditional use of Ethiopian garlic for infectious diseases and for controlling fever appears to be justified

D Deresse

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Asian Journal of Medical Sciences 2(2): 62-65, 2010
ISSN: 2040-8773
© Maxwell Scientific Organization, 2010
Submitted Date: January 16, 2010 Accepted Date: February 08, 2010 Published Date: March 15, 2010
62
Antibacterial Effect  of Garlic (Allium sativum) on 
Staphylococcu aureus: An in vitro Study
D. Deresse
Hawassa University College of Health Sciences, Department of M edical 
Laboratory Technology,  P.O. Box 1560, Awassa Ethiopia
Abstract: Garlic (Allium sativum) has an important dietary and medicinal role for centuries. It is a large annual
plant of the Liliaceae family, which grows in most of Africa and in Ethiopia. Ethiopian garlic is used  in
traditional medicine for infectious disease and some other cases. The present study tested the aqueous extract
of garlic in vitro for its antibacterial activity. The extract showed concentration dependent antibacterial activity
against Staphylococcus aureus.  The traditional use of Ethiopian garlic for infectious diseases and for
controlling fever appears to be justified. 
Key words: Antibacterial activity, garlic, A. sativum, Staphylococcus aureus
INTRODUCTION
It is charming to observe how different cultures have
never come into contact with one another came to the
same conclusion about the role of garlic in health and
disease. Some of the earliest references to this medicinal
and culinary plant are found on Sumerian clay tablets
dating from 2600–2100 BC. Garlic was an important
medicine to the ancient Egyptians listed in the medical
text Codex Ebers (ca. 1550 BC) especially for the
working class involved inheavy labor Lawson et al.,
1998; Moyers et al., 1996). There is evidence that during
the earliest Olympics in Greece, garlic was fed to the
athletes for increasing stamina (Lawson et al., 1998).
The great herbalists  and physicians of the ancient
world record garlic historical use. "Garlic has powerful
properties and is of great benefit against changes of water
and of residence," wrote Pliny the elder, the first century
Roman naturalist (23-79 AD) (Foster, 1996; Koch and
Lawson, 1995). Garlic has been used from the time when
ancient times in India and China for a valuable effect on
the heart and circulation, cardiovascular disease (Kris-
Etherton et al., 2002; Koscielny et al., 1999; Yu-Yan and
Liu, 2001; Gardner et al., 2003), and regular use of garlic
may help to prevent cancer, to treat malaria, and to raise
immunity. Garlic has also proposed to treat asthma,
candidiasis, colds, diabetes, and antibacterial effect
against food borne pathogens like Salmonella, Shigella
and S. aureus (Teferi and Hahn, 2002).
Therapeutic use of garlic has been recognized as a
potential medicinal value for thousands of years to
different microorganisms. For example; antifungal,
antiviral, antibacterial antihelmantic, antiseptic and anti-
inflammatory properties of garlic are well documented.
Moreover, garlic extracts exhibited activity against both
gram negative (E. coli, Salmonella sp. and Citrobacter
enterobacter, Pseudomona kilabsella) and gram positive
(S. aureus, S. pneumonia  Group A streptococcus and
Bacillus anthrax) all of which are  cause of morbidity
worldwide. This study will focus on recent research on
protective effects of garlic against Staphylococcus aureus
There is extensive literature on the antibacterial
effects of fresh garlic juice, aqueous and alcoholic
extracts, lyophilized  powders, steam distilled oil and
other commercial preparations of garlic. Fenwick and
Hanely (1985) understood a thorough review of the
antibacterial effects of garlic and other allium vegetables
up to mid-1984; more recently, the antibacterial effects of
garlic have been studied by Reuter et al. (1996). The
present study tested an aqueous extract of dried garlic in
vitro for its antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus
aureus.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The influence of garlic bacterial growth was studied
with 30 clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus. Fresh
Ethiopian garlic was peeled and meshed in a blender.
After filtration the substance was freeze dried and stored
at -10ºC  until use. 
Antibacterial effect of garlic on Staphylococcus aureus:
Susceptibility of Staphylococcus aureus was determined
by the agar dilution method using Muller Hinton agar
(The NCCLS Modified Kirby-Bauer susceptibility testing
technique). Clearly prepared garlic powder was
thoroughly mixed with distilled water and the
concentration was determined with varying amounts of
crude preparation of garlic to give the final concentration
of 7.50, 15.00, 22.50, 30.00, 37.50, 45.00, 52.50 mg/ml
and 60.00mg/ml of media and the final volume of 20 ml.
Asian J. Med. Sci., 2(2): 62-65, 2010
63
Tab le 1: Th e antibac terial activity of cru de preparation  of garlic, M inimum  Inhibitory  Co ncen tration (M IC) m g/ml of  med ia at room  tempe rature
Co ncentratio n of  garlic  (mg /ml)
S. aureus in ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
different samples N o % 0.75 15.00 22.50 30.00 37.50 45.00 52.50 60.00
Sputum 10 33.33 + - - - - - - -
Stool 12 40.00 + - - - - - - -
Nasal swab 14 46.33 + - - - - - - -
Ear discharge 4 13.33 + - - - - - - -
Total 30 100.00
+: Indica tes grow th of  bac teria
!: Indicates inhibition of bacteria 
Isolation of Staphylococcus aureus: Clinical samples
(sputum, nasal swab, stool and ear discharge) were
collected and cultured on Nutrient and Manitol Salt Agars
(MSA) as well as other biochemical tests (coagulase and
catalase test) were done. Agar plates were inoculated with
0.01ml of Staphylococcus aureus suspension (which was
clearly grown on MSA) (McFarland 3) and incubated for
18-24 hours at 35-37ºC under aerobic condition. The
Minimum Inhibition Concentrations (MIC) and Minimum
Bactericidal Concentrations (MBC) of the garlic were
determined   using  clinical  isolates  and control  strains
(S. aureus ATCC 25923, E. coli ATCC 25922,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853 which get hold of
Ethiopian Nutrition and H ealth research institute ENHRI
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Pasture institute). The study was
conducted from August 31st 2008 – January 1st 2009 in at
Hawassa University.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The pH of each of the garlic solution was 6.90, 7.00,
7.08, 7.14, 7.18, 7.28, 7.29 and 7.40. The activity of the
garlic was tested in these different pH levels and has no
pH effect on the garlic activitywas observed. This was
similar to the observation of Shokrzadeh and Ebadi
(2006). The MIC of extract on S. aureus was determined
to be greater than 7.50mg/ml, which is almost similar with
the work of Shokrzadeh and Ebadi (2006). The lower
concentration of garlic had no antibacterial effect in this
work, however; it may effective as Shokrzadeh and Ebadi
(2006). This is may be due the species difference or the
garlic difference in different biologic condition. 
This study revealed that antibacterial activity of the
garlic extract was heat sensitive. All clinical isolates (30)
of S. aureus were tested on garlic extract, which was
autoclaved at 121ºC for 15 min. There was no
antibacterial effect of garlic in contrast to the study of
Shokrzadeh and Ebadi (2006) (Table 2). The antibacterial
effect of crude preparation of garlic at room temperature
(fresh garlic) and refrigerated at -10ºC has the same
antibacterial effect however; the fresh garlic shows
greater effectiveness.
Several studies  Stewart and Holt (1962), Cuviello
(1999)  and  Koneman  et al. (1986) have confirmed that
S. aureus is an important cause for both nosocomial and
community acquired infections, which result in substantial
mor bidity  and m ortality. A lthoug h scien tific
antimicrobials were of help in the initial phase of their
development   their   fas t   emergence  of  drug  resistant
S. aureus strains have created a problem in the control and
treatment of various infections Barber (1961), Monzone
(1971) and Pearson (2000). As medicinal chemists
advance in their search for new bacterial targets to attack,
bacteria relentlessly evolve; as a result, a large number of
bacterial species have become resistant to antibacterial
drugs Garau (1994), Gould (1994) and Sanders and
Sanders (1992). Thus there is a need to develop alternate
strategies. Because garlic is known to act  synergistically
with antibiotics, and resistance has not been reported for
garlic, more dose-response preclinical studies and
eventually clinical studies should be done to assess the
use of an antibiotic/garlic combination for bacteria that
are difficult to eradicate.
On consideration of the problems the study focused
on the garlic antibacterial activity on S. aureus has shown
that dilute solutions of garlic can completely inhibit the
growth of S. aureus at the concentration of more than 7.50
mg/ml. This could be due to the action of biological active
ingredient of allicin exhibits its antimicrobial activity
mainly by immediate and total inhibition of RNA
synthesis, although DNA and protein syntheses are also
partially inhibited, suggesting that RNA is the primary
target of allicin action Feldberg et al. (1988).
According to Onyeagba and his colleague the crude
extracts of garlic and ginger applied singly and in
combination did not exhibit any in vitro inhibition on the
growth of test organisms including Staphylococcus spp.
(Onyeagba et al., 2004). In contrast the study has clearly
shown that for S. aureus with inoculums density of 104
CFU/ml, garlic in concentration of (15.00-60.00 mg/ml)
was capable of causing the inhibition of growth of
bacteria (Table 1 and 3).
At the same protocol garlic has a bactericidal effect
at the lower concentration of 30.00mg/ml for clinical
isolate of S. aureus. However, this concentration level
may vary as different authors for instance 160mg/ml was
observed by Sivam et al. (1997). This might be due to the
garlic species variation in different country, the
processing difference on the garlic species and the
inoculums   densities.   The  bactericidal  effect  of  garlic
Asian J. Med. Sci., 2(2): 62-65, 2010
64
Tab le 2: The antibacterial ac tivity  of crude preparation of garlic, Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) mg/ml of Media autoclaved at 121ºC
for 1 5 m in
Co ncentratio n of  garlic  (mg /ml)
S. aureus in ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
different samples N o % 0.75 15.00 22.50 30.00 37.50 45.00 52.50 60.00
Sputum 10 33.33 + + + + + + + +
Stool 12 40.00 + + + + + + + +
Nasal swab 14 46.33 + + + + + + + +
Ear discharge 4 13.33 + + + + + + + +
Total 30 100.00
+: Indica tes grow th of  bac teria
!: Indicates inhibition of bacteria 
Table 3: Th e antibacterial activity of crude preparation of g arlic, Minimum inh ibitory concentration (MIC ) mg/ml of M edia refrigerated at -10ºC
 Co ncentratio n of  garlic  (mg /ml)
S. aureus in ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
different samples N o % 0.75 15.00 22.50 30.00 37.50 45.00 52.50 60.00
Sputum 10 33.33 + - - - - - - -
Stool 12 40.00 + - - - - - - -
Nasal swab 14 46.33 + - - - - - - -
Ear discharge 4 13.33 + - - - - - - -
Total 30 100
+: Indica tes grow th of  bac teria
!: Indicates inhibition of bacteria 
might be due to the structural characteristics of organisms
which play a role in the  bacterial susceptibility to garlic
constituents    Tyneka    and    Gos   (1975),   particularly
Staphylococcus aureus contains only 2% lipid Salton
(1964) so that the lipid content of the membranes will
have an effect on the permeability of allicin and other
garlic constituents. Hence these phenomenons may favor
the destruction of the cell wall and genetic materials of
Staphylococcus aureus lastingly.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
This study indemnifies that garlic (Allium sativum)
has antimicrobial properties against Staphylococcus
aureus. It has both a bacteristatic and bactericidal activity
when tested in vitro using crude preparation of
garlic.Therefore, garlic may be used successfully for
treating food poisoning causa tive ag ent like
Staphylococcus aureus. It may be effective on other
microbes on gram positive and gram-negative bacteria, so
that further in vivo and in vitro studies are necessary.
In our situation people’s uses garlic after cooking
very well with other food, so this may affect antimicrobial
effect of garlic in vivo. Further study is very important on
the temperature and PH effect on garlic activity. More
importantly there is need for detailed scientific study of
traditional medical practices to ensure that valuable
therapeutic knowledge of some plants is preserved and
also to provide scientific evidence for their efficacies.
Also another study will be needed to establish the exact
component or pharmacological standardization and
clinical evaluation in garlic.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This work was possible because of encouragement
and guidance of Hawassa University and Jimma
University, Department of M edica l Laboratory
Technology, Ethiopia, Staffs of Armour Hanson Research
Institute (AHARI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Staffs of
Ethiopian Nutrition and H ealth research institute ENHRI
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
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Antibacterial effect of garlic (Allium sativum) on Staphyloccus aureus: An in vitro study.

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Antibacterial effect of garlic (Allium sativum) on Staphyloccus aureus: An in vitro study.

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