title: Efficacy of ajoene, an organosulphur derived from garlic, in the short-term therapy of tinea pedis.
abstract: The present report shows the efficacy of ajoene, a garlic-derived organic trisulphur, for short-term therapy of tinea pedis. The use of ajoene as a 0.4% (w/w) cream resulted in complete clinical and mycological cure in 27 of 34 patients (79%) after 7 days of treatment. The remaining seven patients (21%) achieved complete cure after seven additional days of treatment. All patients were evaluated for recurrence of mycotic infections 90 days after the end of treatment, yielding negative cultures for fungus. These results show that ajoene is an alternative, efficient and low-cost antimycotic drug for short-term therapy of tinea pedis. The fact that ajoene can be easily prepared from an alcoholic extract of garlic may make it suitable for Third World public health care.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud, Escuela de Medicina, Universidad de Oriente, Núcleo Anzoategui, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ledezma
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: DeSousa
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jorquera
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sanchez
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lander
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Jain
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Apitz-Castro
mesh_terms: D000287:Administration, Topical; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004220:Disulfides / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004821:Epidermophyton / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005737:Garlic; D006801:Humans; D008889:Military Personnel; D009824:Ointments; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D013454:Sulfoxides; D014008:Tinea Pedis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D014249:Trichophyton / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014687:Venezuela
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D004220:Disulfides; D009824:Ointments; D010936:Plant Extracts; D013454:Sulfoxides; C048980:ajoene