The inappropriate and irrational use of antibiotics in poultry industry has led to the emergence of resistant microbial populations such as Salmonella typhimurium, which is responsible for 26% of cases of enterocolitis in humans. In the fight against this bacterium, Allium sativum (garlic) would be an effective alternative. This is because several studies claim the effectiveness of garlic in the prevention and treatment of bacterial diseases. To determine the in vitro antibacterial activity of hexane extract of garlic on the growth of Salmonella typhimurium, different concentrations of 50, 100, 200, 400 and 800 mg/ml of extract were used. The antibacterial activity was evaluated using agar well diffusion test method. Macro-titer tubes were used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). The minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) was obtained by streak plate method. Ciprofloxacin was used as a positive control and distilled water as a negative control. The concentrations of 200, 400 and 800 mg/ml showed inhibition zones with diameters ranging from 14 to 24 mm; 29 mm for ciprofloxacin and 0 mm for distilled water. The MIC were between 31,25 to 62,5 mg/ml while MBC was 250 mg/ml. The present work concludes that, to fight Salmonella typhimurium, hexane extract of garlic can be used as a potential alternative to antibiotics.

Keywords: Garlic, Medicinal plant extract, Disc diffusion technique, Macro dilution technique, Salmonella typhimurium strains, Minimum inhibitory concentration, Minimum bactericidal concentration.