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Review: antimicrobial properties of allicin used alone or in combination with other medications

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Abstract

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is a well-known spice widely utilised for its medicinal properties. There is an extensive record of the many beneficial health effects of garlic which can be traced back to as early as the ancient Egyptian era. One of the most studied properties of garlic is its ability to cure certain ailments caused by infections. In the 1940s, the antimicrobial activities exhibited by garlic were first reported to be due to allicin, a volatile compound extracted from raw garlic. Since then, allicin has been widely investigated for its putative inhibitory activities against a wide range of microorganisms. Allicin has demonstrated a preference for targeting the thiol-containing proteins and/or enzymes in microorganisms. It has also demonstrated the ability to regulate several genes essential for the virulence of microorganisms. Recently, it was reported that allicin may function better in combination with other antimicrobials compared to when used alone. When used in combination with antibiotics or antifungals, allicin enhanced the antimicrobial activities of these substances and improved the antimicrobial efficacy. Hence, it is likely that combination therapy of allicin with additional antimicrobial drug(s) could serve as a viable alternative for combating rising antimicrobial resistance. This review focuses on the antimicrobial activities exhibited by allicin alone as well as in combination with other substances. The mechanisms of action of allicin elucidated by some of the studies are also highlighted in the present review in order to provide a comprehensive overview of this versatile bioactive compound and the mechanistic evidence supporting its potential use in antimicrobial therapy.

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Data sharing not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Dr. Martin Gruhlke (RWTH Aachen University, Germany) for allowing us to include a part of his diagram in our review article.

Funding

This study was funded by the Taylor’s Research Grant Scheme (TRGS), Taylor’s University (TRGS/ERFS/2/2018/SBS/025) as well as the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme, Malaysian Ministry of Education (FRGS/1/2019/SKK11/TAYLOR/01/1).

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Idea for the article: Sulin Choo, Pei Pei Chong. Literature search and data analysis: Sulin Choo, Pei Pei Chong, Voon Kin Chin. Drafted and/or critically revised the work: Sulin Choo, Pei Pei, Chong, Voon Kin Chin, Sun Tee Tay, Priya Madhavan, Eng Hwa Wong and Phelim Yong Voon Chen.

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Correspondence to Pei Pei Chong.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Research involving human participants and/or animals

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

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For this type of review study which does not involve any human participants, informed consent is not required.

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Choo, S., Chin, V.K., Wong, E.H. et al. Review: antimicrobial properties of allicin used alone or in combination with other medications. Folia Microbiol 65, 451–465 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12223-020-00786-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12223-020-00786-5

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