A group of microorganisms, all of which lack a distinct nuclear membrane and are considered to be more primitive than animal, plant or human cells. Most bacteria are single celled.
Bacteria reproduce asexually by simple division of cells and incomplete separation of daughter cells can lead to the formation of colonies consisting of different numbers and arrangements of cells all with different and complex shapes. Bacteria are very widely distributed. Some live in soil, water or air; others are parasites of man, animals and plants and many cause disease by producing toxins.
The minimum inhibitory concentration of allicin in parts per million for some common bacterial species
Streptococcus pyogenes
16 ppm (flesh eating bacteria)
Staphylococcus aureus
16 ppm (implicated in eczema)
Listeria monocytogenes
16 ppm (often caught from animals)
Escherichia Coli 0157
32 ppm (poorly cooked meat)
Salmonella typhimurium
32 ppm (raw eggs)
Clostridium perfringens
64 ppm (animals and man)
Helicobacter pylori
16 ppm (stomach ulcers)
Yersinia enterocolitica
12 ppm (stomach upsets)
Bacillus subtilus
<3 ppm (causes conjunctivitis)
Case study - drug-resistant Streptococcus
In Norway Camilla, a young Mother of 2 children went into hospital to have her third child by caesarian section. Although everything went well she picked up an infection, a not uncommon event in even the best-run hospitals. Camilla had a drug resistant streptococcus and after she was discharged her wound failed to heal for several months and she had a systemic infection that made her tired, washed out and unable to look after her new baby or the family. With her husband taking time off work Camilla was desperate. Then she read about allicin. After taking 1800mg of allicin powder per day for 4 weeks she began to feel better. Although she had already stopped taking the antibiotics in less than a month her specimens came back negative – no bacterial infection. No bacteria found in her throat, her underarms or her vagina. She was clear, healthy and cured.
