Garlicin—fact or fiction? the antibiotic substance from garlic (Allium sativum L.)

Abstract It was in the early pioneer days of the antibiotic era when ‘garlicin’, the antibiotic agent from garlic ( Allium sativum L.), appeared for the first time in the scientific literature and was described as a substance isolated from garlic cloves with convincing pharmacological and clinical evidence concerning its antibiotic properties. In this article evidence for and against garlicin as a chemical entity will be reviewed in order to clarify more fully the known antibiotic activity of garlic clove extracts.