Garlic and its extracts have been used to treat infections
for thousands of years.6Allicin (the name being derived from
that of the garlic species Allium sativum) is considered to be
the main biologically active antimicrobial phytochemical
produced in garlic extracts, and was first recognised as such
in 1944.7
Allicin is an oxygenated sulphur compound, formed when
garlic cloves are crushed.Alliin is the stable precursor of
allicin and is stored in compartments in the plant that
separate it from the enzyme alliinase (also called alliin lyase).
When crushed, they mix and alliin is converted rapidly to
allicin by the action of this enzyme. The antibacterial activity
of allicin was reviewed by Ankri and Mirelman in 1999.8