Garlic extracts inhibits Mycobacteria

Thirty strains of mycobacteria, consisting of 17 species, were inhibited by various concentrations of garlic extract incorporated in Middlebrook 7H10 agar. The concentration required ranged from a low of 1.34 mg/ml to a high of 3.35 mg/ml of media. When there were multiple strains of a species, a mean inhibitory concentration was determined for that species. Six strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis required a mean inhibitory concentration of 1.67 mg/ml of media.Further studies in this area has revealed that the substance in garlic which is responsiblefor this inhibition is Allicin.Some people argue that the concentration required for inhibition could be harmful to human body.Further studies in this area is in progress.
In the past,Louis Pasteur had conducted experiments on garlic and had found that it kills bacteria .In world war II when and where penicillin was scarce garlic was used as antiseptic.