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.