Antimicrobial Effect of Chloroformic Garlic Extract on Mycobacterium Tuberculosis

Abstract: This study assesses the antimicrobial effect of chlorofonnic extract of garlic on strains of mycobacterium tuberculosis. A standard H37RV isolate and isolates from patients with drug resistant pulmonary tuberculosis were used. A strain sensitive to 4 drugs (rifampin, isoniazid, ethambutol and streptomycin), resistant to the four drugs, resistant to two drugs and a strain resistant to one drug, were used. The antimicrobial effect was tested in vitro with minimum inhibitory concentrations of the chloroformic extract of garlic on the mycobacteria. Middel Broke 7H10 agar medium with 1: 128 dlution or (167+SD pg mL-') of chlorofonnic extract of garlic were used. Our study showed that garlic extract is effective in inhibiting growth of not only drug semitive, but also drug resistant isolates of mycobacterium tuberculosis. Key words: Mycobacterium tuberculosis, drug resistance, garlic extract INTRODUCTION Although the prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) has drastically decreased in recent decades, it is still an important health concern to specialists and centers of disease control in dfferent societies. Control efforts are top priorities of health ministries in most countries. TB comprises one-fourth of all adult mortalities in developed countries (Dolin et