Garlic Compound May Be Key to Fighting Campylobacter

PULLMAN, Wash.A compound found naturally in garlic has been found to be 100 times more effective than two popular antibiotics at fighting the Campylobacter bacterium, the most common source of food-borne illness in the United States, according to a new study published in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. The discovery may lead to new treatments for raw and processed meats and food preparation surfaces.

Most Campylobacter infections stem from eating raw or undercooked poultry or foods that have been cross-contaminated via surfaces or utensils used to prepare poultry. Researchers at Washington State University examined the ability of the garlic-derived compound, diallyl sulfide, to kill the bacterium when it is protected by a slimy biofilm that makes it 1,000 times more resistant to antibiotics than the free floating bacterial cell.

They found the compound can easily penetrate the protective biofilm and kill bacterial cells by combining with a sulfur-containing enzyme, subsequently changing the enzyme's function and effectively shutting down cell metabolism. They discovered diallyl sulfide was as effective as 100 times as much of the antibiotics erythromycin and ciprofloxacin and would often work in a fraction of the time.

The researchers noted while eating garlic is a generally healthy practice, it is unlikely to prevent Campylobacter -related food poisoning. However, "diallyl sulfide may be useful in reducing the levels of the Campylobacter in the environment and to clean industrial food-processing equipment, as the bacterium is found in a biofilm in both settings."