Garlic Against Bacterial Infections in Cystic Fibrosis Patients

In a previous entry on healing herbs, I mentioned that garlic has antimicrobial properties. Now, scientists at The University of Nottingham will be conducting a study to see if garlic can help control Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in cystic fibrosis patients, where lung infections are quite prevalent.

Dr Alan Smyth of the University’s School of Human Development, who is leading the project, said: “The garlic components inhibit a bacterial communication system called quorum sensing (QS). This is responsible for the germ forming tenacious colonies in the lungs called ‘biofilms’. The QS molecules also switch on bacterial weapons such as ‘elastase’, an enzyme which breaks down elastic tissue in the lung.

“The beauty of this approach is that we may be able to render the germ harmless without killing it. If we use a conventional antibiotic which kills the Pseudomonas, there will always be some survivors, some of which may develop antibiotic resistance. The trick is not to allow Pseudomonas to use natural selection as a weapon against us.”