Garlic: Weapon against lung disease – Study

Scientists have discovered a substance in garlic that could be a weapon against serious complications in lung disease called cystic fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis is an incurable hereditary disease that slowly destroys the lungs, making it difficult  for patients  to breath.  The researchers found that the natural garlic compound called  ajoene, could prevent bacteria from communicating […]

Scientists have discovered a substance in garlic that could be a weapon against serious complications in lung disease called cystic fibrosis.

Cystic fibrosis is an incurable hereditary disease that slowly destroys the lungs, making it difficult  for patients  to breath. 

The researchers found that the natural garlic compound called  ajoene, could prevent bacteria from communicating and collaborating with each other thus making it easier to kill them.

The study, which was published in the scientific journal, Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, showed that ajoene is especially effective in fighting the bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which gives chronic infections in patients suffering from cystic fibrosis.

The research group, headed by Professor Michael Givskov, has studied the antimicrobial properties of garlic for six years and is responsible for the new research result, expected to be of great benefit to patients with cystic fibrosis.

 “Ajoene also prevents the bacteria secreting rhamnolipid, a substance that destroys the body’s white blood cells – which are designed to kill bacteria and prevent infections,” said Tim Holm Jakobsen, a PhD student of the Department of International Health, Immunology and Microbiology at the University of Copenhagen.

According to the study, Ajoene does not kill bacteria directly, but it inhibits virulence genes controlled by quorum sensing. This disruption prevents the bacteria from coordinating their attacks on the body.

In laboratory trials with a biofilm comprising P. aeruginosa bacteria, the research group showed that ajoene in combination with an antibiotic drug kills more than 90 percent of the bacteria.

The promising trials with ajoene indicate that patients with cystic fibrosis will have a potent weapon in the future in their battle against the disease.

Jakobsen believes that ajoene will be used in combination with ordinary antibiotics to win the battle against the infection that so far has killed cystic fibrosis patients.