

Herbal Antibiotics
By Andrew Pacholyk

Herbal antibiotics can fight infection and bolster the immune system.
Tea Tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) and Garlic (Allium sativum) are two
such antibiotics. Unlike antibiotic drugs, these natural substances also
have antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties.


TEA TREE (Melaleuca alternifolia) 
This essential oil is a disinfectant and good in healing all skin
conditions including acne, athlete's foot, nail fungus, herpes
outbreaks, insect bites, warts, cuts and scrapes, scabies, vaginitis. 

Safety: Like other essential oils, tea tree oil can be toxic if taken
orally in excessive doses. Since the maximum safe dosage has not been
determined, we recommend using it only topically, where it is believed
to be quite safe. However, don't get it in your eye or it will sting
badly. In addition, an increasing number of cases of skin inflammation
caused by allergy to tea tree oil have been reported. Safety in young
children, pregnant or nursing women, or those with severe liver or
kidney disease has not been established. 

Dosage: Tea tree preparations contain various percentages of tea tree
oil. For treating acne, the typical strength is 5 to 15%; for fungal
infections, 70 to 100% is usually used; and for use as a vaginal douche
(with medical supervision), 1 to 40% concentrations have been used. It
is usually applied 2 to 3 times daily, until symptoms resolve. However,
tea tree oil can be irritating to the skin, so start with low
concentrations until you know your tolerance. The best tea tree products
contain oil from the alternifolia species of Melaleuca only,
standardized to contain not more than 10% cineole (an irritant) and at
least 30% terpinen-4-ol. Oil from a specially bred variant of tea tree
may have increased activity against microorganisms, while irritating the
skin less. 


GARLIC (Allium sativum) 
In Europe, garlic has come to be seen as an all-around treatment for
preventing atherosclerosis, the cause of heart disease and strokes.
Garlic may fight atherosclerosis in many ways, such as protecting
against free radicals, countering the tendency of the blood to clot, and
possibly reducing blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Preliminary
evidence suggests that regular use of garlic may help prevent cancer.

Garlic may be an effective antibiotic when it contacts the tissue
directly, but there is no evidence that it works like a standard
antibiotic, spreading throughout the body and killing organisms
everywhere. Garlic has known antifungal properties,and there is
preliminary evidence suggesting that Ajoene, a compound derived from
garlic, might help treat athlete's foot. Garlic has also been proposed
as a treatment for asthma, candida, colds, diabetes, and vaginal
infections. 

Garlic oil products are often recommended for children's ear infections.
While these products may reduce pain, it is very unlikely that they have
any actual effect on the infection because the eardrum is in the way.
Contrary to some reports, garlic does not appear to be a useful
treatment for Helicobacter pylori, the stomach bacteria implicated as a
major cause of ulcers. 

Safety: As a commonly used food, garlic is on the FDA's GRAS (generally
recognized as safe) list. Rats have been fed gigantic doses of aged
garlic (2,000 mg per kilogram body weight) for 6 months without any
signs of negative effects. Unfortunately, there does not appear to be
any animal toxicity studies on the most commonly used form of
garlic?powdered garlic standardized to alliin content. The only common
side effect of garlic is unpleasant breath odor. Even "odorless garlic"
produces an offensive smell in up to 50% of those who use it. 

Other side effects occur only rarely. For example, a study that followed
1,997 people who were given a normal dose of deodorized garlic daily
over a 16-week period showed a 6% incidence of nausea, a 1.3% incidence
of dizziness on standing (perhaps a sign of low blood pressure), and a
1.1% incidence of allergic reactions. These are very low percentages in
comparison to those usually reported in drug studies. There were also a
few reports of bloating, headaches, sweating, and dizziness. 

When raw garlic is taken in excessive doses, it can cause numerous
symptoms, such as stomach upset, heartburn, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea,
flatulence, facial flushing, rapid pulse, and insomnia. Topical garlic
can cause skin irritation, blistering, and even third-degree burns, so
be very careful about applying garlic directly to the skin. 

Since garlic "thins" the blood, it is not a good idea to take
high-potency garlic pills immediately prior to or after surgery or labor
and delivery, due to the risk of excessive bleeding. Similarly, garlic
should not be combined with blood-thinning drugs, such as Coumadin
(warfarin), heparin, aspirin, Plavix (clopidogrel), or Trental
(pentoxifylline). In addition, garlic could conceivably interact with
natural products with blood-thinning properties, such as ginkgo,
policosanol, or high-dose vitamin E. Garlic may also combine poorly with
certain HIV medications. Two people with HIV experienced severe
gastrointestinal toxicity from the HIV drug ritonavir after taking
garlic supplements. Garlic might also reduce the effectiveness of some
drugs used for HIV. Garlic is presumed to be safe for pregnant women
(except just before and immediately after delivery) and nursing mothers,
although this has not been proven. 

Dosage: A typical dosage of garlic is 900 mg daily of a garlic powder
extract standardized to contain 1.3% alliin, providing about 12,000 mcg
of alliin daily. However, a great deal of controversy exists over the
proper dosage and form of garlic. Most everyone agrees that 1 or 2 raw
garlic cloves per day are adequate for most purposes, but virtual trade
wars have taken place over the potency and effectiveness of various
dried, aged, or deodorized garlic preparations. The problem has to do
with the way garlic is naturally constructed. A relatively odorless
substance, alliin, is one of the most important compounds in garlic.
When garlic is crushed or cut, an enzyme called allinase is brought in
contact with alliin, turning it into allicin. The allicin itself then
rapidly breaks down into entirely different compounds. Allicin is most
responsible for garlic's strong odor. It can also blister the skin and
kill bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Presumably the garlic plant uses
allicin as a form of protection from pests and parasites. It also may
provide much of the medicinal benefits of garlic. 

When you powder garlic to put it in a capsule, it acts like cutting the
bulb. The chain reaction starts: Alliin contacts allinase, yielding
allicin, which then breaks down. Unless something is done to prevent
this process, garlic powder won't have any alliin or allicin left by the
time you buy it. Some garlic producers declare that alliin and allicin
have nothing to do with garlic's effectiveness and simply sell products
without it. This is particularly true of aged powdered garlic and garlic
oil. But others feel certain that allicin is absolutely essential.
However, in order to make garlic relatively odorless, they must prevent
the alliin from turning into allicin until the product is consumed. To
accomplish this feat, they engage in marvelously complex manufacturing
processes, each unique and proprietary. How well each of these methods
work is a matter of finger-pointing controversy. 

The best that can be said at this point is that in most of the clinical
studies of garlic, the daily dosage supplied at least 10 mg of alliin.
This is sometimes stated in terms of how much allicin will be created
from that alliin. The number you should look for is 4 to 5 mg of
"allicin potential." Alliin-free aged garlic also appears to be
effective when taken at a dose of 1 to 7.2 g daily. 

Contraindications: Blood-thinning drugs such as Coumadin (warfarin),
heparin, aspirin, Plavix (clopidogrel), or Trental (pentoxifylline): Do
not use garlic except on medical advice. Ginkgo, policosanol, or
high-dose vitamin E: Taking garlic at the same time might conceivably
cause a risk of bleeding problems. Medications for HIV: Do not use
garlic. 

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