Antibacterial activity of garlic powder against Escherichia coli O-157

The antibacterial activity of garlic powder against O-157 was tested by usi ng garlic bulbs post-harvested 1 y. O-157 at 10(6-7) cfu/ml perished after incubation for 24h with a 1% solution of garlic powder. The use of powder f rom fresh garlic was more effective for antibacterial activity than that fr om old garlic; the 1% solution of fresh garlic powder eradicating the O-157 in 6h. The antibacterial activity was resistant to heat treatment of 100 d egrees C for 20 min. The water-soluble components of garlic powder were fra ctionated into three fractions (Fr. 1-3) by Sephadex G-100 column chromatog raphy, among which Fr. 3 showed antibacterial activity against O-157 but th e other fractions were scarce in activity. The antibacterial activity was a lso shown against other types of pathogenic bacteria such as methicillin-re sistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Salmonella enteritidis, and Candida a lbicans. Thus, the practical use of garlic powder is expected to prevent ba cteria-caused food poisoning.