Activity Of Allium sativum And Allium tuberosum Against Staphylococcal Infection

Objective: To study the antimicrobial activity of A. tuberosum (AT) and A. sativum (AS) against staphylococcal infection. Methods: Four polyurethane sponges were implanted in the back of 95 rats. After 14 days, the resulting granulomatous tissues were infected with Staphylococcus aureus ATCC25923 (amoxicillin susceptible). After 24h of infection, the animals were randomly divided into six groups (n=15): G1 – Control (1mL/kg/p.o. saline); G2 – 100mg/kg AS; G3 – 400mg/kg AS; G4 – 100mg/kg AT; G5 – 400mg/kg AT; and G6 – 50mg/kg amoxicillin. The treatments were applied every 6h. Animals were killed after 0 (baseline only for G1), 6, 12 and 24h of treatment beginning. The infected granulomatous tissues were removed, placed into tubes containing saline and dispersed by ultrasound. The resulting suspension was spread on salt manitol agar plates. The resulting colony forming unities (CFU) were counted after 18h under aerobiosis condition and results were compared by using Kruskal-Wallis test (alpha=5%). Minimum inhibitory (MIC) and bactericidal (MBC) concentrations were also obtained. Results: AT was not able to inhibit or kill S. aureus in vitro. AS MIC and MBC were 2mg/mL and 4mg/mL respectively. A significant CFU decrease (Kruskal-Wallis, p<0.05) was verified for all treatments in comparison with G1, starting from 12 hours. None additional decrease (p>0.05) was verified after 24h, except for G3. The result in CFU (median - 1st and 3rd quartiles) at baseline for G1 was 6925 (1263 – 8975). After 24h: G1 - 653 (160 – 1406); G2 - 228 (90 - 570); G3 – 2 (1 – 23); G4 - 262 (222 - 449); G5 - 55 (0 - 93); and G6 - 10 (0 - 40). AS (400mg/kg) showed higher antimicrobial efficacy (p<0.05) than both AT and amoxicillin, which showed similar efficacy. Conclusion: Both extracts inhibited the staphylococcal infection induced in rats. Support: FAPESP#2007/08076-5.