Allicin is likely toxic to all cells, but we did not preform research related to toxicity in anything except S. Typhimurium. The reason I made the claim it is likely toxic to all living cells is because previous research suggests that, the compound is very reactive, and disrupting the mechanism of copying genetic information is disrupting a function critical to all living organisms.
We did not synthesize our own allicin, nor extract it from fresh garlic. Instead it was bought and shipped from a medical supplier. It was contained in 10% methanol which is the most stable way to contain allicin.
are there other alternatives to bacterial resistance to antibiotics? could other research be used in lieu of finding compounds with antibiotic properties?
This admittedly is a topic I do not know too well.
What I do know is that “antibiotics” are an umbrella term. Really anything that will disrupt critical functions of bacteria and not other cells can be classified as an antibiotic. Therefore almost all drugs that can fight an bacterial infection will be an antibiotic.
However, therapeutic solutions to bacterial infections that do not rely on a single compound could be possible. Possibly retroviruses designed to attack specific species of bacteria could work.
A chef. Brad Leone, who works for the food magazine Bon Appetit. He always talks about how allicin is good for you and you should crush your garlic to “activate the allicin”.
Allicin has an extremely reactive nature to it. That’s the main reason it is so unstable. Previous studies have found that it disrupts the DNA replication process. It’s ability to kill the Bacteria even in very tiny doses is likely due to the fact that there was a sulfur with a lone pair of electrons just waiting to react.
Are there any previous studies that have specifically looked at Allicin/ Garlic in relation to Salmonella? If not what made you think that this compound could potentially effect Salmonella specifically?
There are studies! Included in our reference section was a paper from 1988 that studied Allicin’s effect on S. Typhimurium, the same model organism we used. However they determined that Allicin acted in a bacteriostatic manner which is not consistent with our results. I’ve linked the paper in case you’re curious!
Is allicin toxic only to bacteria? If so why?
Allicin is likely toxic to all cells, but we did not preform research related to toxicity in anything except S. Typhimurium. The reason I made the claim it is likely toxic to all living cells is because previous research suggests that, the compound is very reactive, and disrupting the mechanism of copying genetic information is disrupting a function critical to all living organisms.
How was sample of allicin contained, if it was from the garlic as stated in the beginning how did this process occur?
We did not synthesize our own allicin, nor extract it from fresh garlic. Instead it was bought and shipped from a medical supplier. It was contained in 10% methanol which is the most stable way to contain allicin.
are there other alternatives to bacterial resistance to antibiotics? could other research be used in lieu of finding compounds with antibiotic properties?
This admittedly is a topic I do not know too well.
What I do know is that “antibiotics” are an umbrella term. Really anything that will disrupt critical functions of bacteria and not other cells can be classified as an antibiotic. Therefore almost all drugs that can fight an bacterial infection will be an antibiotic.
However, therapeutic solutions to bacterial infections that do not rely on a single compound could be possible. Possibly retroviruses designed to attack specific species of bacteria could work.
What made you pick allicin as your compound to study?
A chef. Brad Leone, who works for the food magazine Bon Appetit. He always talks about how allicin is good for you and you should crush your garlic to “activate the allicin”.
What could have caused allicin to act as a poison on day 2?
Allicin has an extremely reactive nature to it. That’s the main reason it is so unstable. Previous studies have found that it disrupts the DNA replication process. It’s ability to kill the Bacteria even in very tiny doses is likely due to the fact that there was a sulfur with a lone pair of electrons just waiting to react.
Are there any previous studies that have specifically looked at Allicin/ Garlic in relation to Salmonella? If not what made you think that this compound could potentially effect Salmonella specifically?
There are studies! Included in our reference section was a paper from 1988 that studied Allicin’s effect on S. Typhimurium, the same model organism we used. However they determined that Allicin acted in a bacteriostatic manner which is not consistent with our results. I’ve linked the paper in case you’re curious!
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC176014/pdf/aac00091-0039.pdf