A new research has revealed that garlic can help in warding off bacterial infections.Garlic contains ajoene and this is the secret ingredient which does the magic of protecting the body from bacteria. Ajoene destroys the communication system, Quorum Sensing, of the bacteria. This system is responsible for causing infections.
"There is a potent chemical compound in the garlic plant that neutralises resistant bacteria by paralysing their communication system. Ajoene—the substance present in garlic—specifically prevents the bacteria from secreting the toxin rhamnolipid, which destroys white blood cells in the body," says Tim Holm Jakobsen of University of Copenhagen's Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences.
White blood cells or leukocytes are important because they form a part of the immune system and protect us from infections.
But the researcher says that garlic alone is not so effective. It has to be combined with antibiotics to see the result. Bacteria become resistant to medicines because they form a biofilm composed of organics compounds around themselves. Ajoene alone is not able to break this film, but a combination of the garlic and antibiotic ruptures almost 90 per cent of the film.
"Garlic contains so little ajoene that you would need to eat around 50 a day to achieve the desired effect," Jakobsen says. But the study will surely go a long way in finding treatment for fighting bacterial infections.
Source:University of Copenhagen's Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences.
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