Garlic as an Antibiotic – What Science Is Now Saying

We know that garlic — that essential ingredient we commonly use in our sauces, soups and marinades — is extremely medicinal on many fronts. It’s safe to say that garlic helps prevent cardiovascular disease and cancer, and now we’re learning from two recent studies that garlic is also a potent antibiotic.

Particularly impressive is recent proof that garlic is effective against strains of pathogens that have become resistant to many drugs. The first study showed that garlic juice showed significant antibacterial activity against a host of pathogens, even including antibiotic-resistant strains such as ciprofloxacin-resistant staphylococci.

The second study, conducted on mice, found that garlic was able to inhibit a type of staph infection that’s become increasingly resistant to antibiotics and increasingly common in hospitals. Garlic extract was fed to mice 16 hours after they were infected with the pathogen. After 24 hours, garlic was found to have been protective against the pathogen and to have significantly decreased the infection. This type of staph infection has become a potential danger for health care workers, as well as for people with weakened immune systems.

Garlic can make pasta sauce taste great, but “garlic cures” can also protect you and your family, as well as nurses and hospital staff, against potential infections.

Sources: National Institutes of Health-1, National Institutes of Health-2