Baskadia

A team of scientists has discovered that garlic concentrates and garlic-derived compound diallyl sulfide worked better than commonly used antibiotics against bacteria that cause foodborne illness. In addition to being way more effective, the garlic-derived compound was also much quicker in its action.

The researchers have also published research indicating the effectiveness of diallyl sulfide against Listeria and E. Coli bacteria.

This is great news for fans of natural products, because it means that adding garlic appears to be able to make other foods safer to eat. The researchers also claimed that diallyl sulfide could be used for cleaning and food preparation purposes.

Garlic has been used as an antibacterial since ancient times. A slice of garlic has been placed on an open wound in order to stave off infection. And good old Louis Pasteur noted that garlic killed bacteria. It’s a shame that it has taken so long for these natural antibiotics to return to the fore – as antibiotics have been found to cause a number of problems such as the damage to friendly bacteria in the gut.