Exploration of the effects of allicin on the growth of Staphylococcus aureus in an in-vivo animal model

Abstract

The antimicrobial properties of allicin require further investigation in order to evaluate this garlic-derived chemical as an anti-infective agent against Staphylococcus aureus wound infection. There is an important ongoing clinical problem with wound infection by this pathogen along with the fact that antibiotics continue to lose their effectiveness against strains. This motivated us to explore alternative methods to deal with this common clinical problem and allicin quickly emerged as an agent worthy of testing in a standardized wound infection model. Using a mouse model, we followed wound progression in the presence of different levels of allicin applied at the wound site, and compared that to controls. We followed the progression of this infection in a number of ways: visually, semi-quantitatively, and by histologic staining and microscopic analysis of wound tissue. These forms of analysis showed that, when used as stated, allicin is not effective on its own for wound control.