The Potential of Tea, Lemon (Citrus limon), and Garlic (Allium Sativum) to combat Propionibacterium Acnes: Systematic Review

Abstract

Propionibacterium acnes is the leading cause of acne, a chronic inflammatory disease of the pilosebaceous unit that can potentially leave scars. Acne, the eight most prevalent disease in the world, affects 10% of the world’s population. Unfortunately, people with acne are often considered as unhealthy, unattractive, unclean, and even unlovable because skin health and beauty is considered to represent overall well-being and health in humans, resulting in an increase of money spent worldwide on acne medications alone from the year 2001 to the year 2004, 2.l billion euros to 2.2 billion US dollars, respectively. Although a big number of over-the-counter products are available for acne, some can cause severe irritations and allergic reactions that can be life-threatening. Research has also shown that resistance of Propionibacterium acnes to commonly used drugs have been increasing over the years. Consequently, herbal medicines are used as it is considered to be less expensive and has fewer side effects than over the counter drugs. This paper aims to summarize and review the antimicrobial properties of natural antibiotics against Propionibacterium acnes from current existing scientific literature, and to indicate which products would be a promising candidate for the treatment against Propionibacterium acnes.