Man-made vs. Herbal Remedies

By: Gillian Chandler

Question:

Are herbal remedies more effective in killing bacteria than man-made medicines?

I chose to do this experiment because...

Research:

• Peppermint extract is commonly used to treat an upset stomach or aid digestion

        - It also has been proven to be antibacterial

• Dandelion root can help digestion and be used as a diuretic

• Penicillin is used to kill bacteria in a wide range of Gram-positive bacterias

        -Many bacterias have built up resistance to penicillin                         • Erythromycin is an antibiotic used to treat certain bacterial

infections

Research (2):

• Escherichia coli (E. Coli)  Gram negative bacterial infection  causes food poisoning

• Bacillus cereus (B. Cereus)  Gram positive  bacterial infection  causes food borne illness

Research (3):

"Gram" refer how a bacteria reacts to an initial strainGram positive

o has many thick layers of peptidoglycan (sugar protein shell)

o Effect on antibiotics

Gram negativeo cell wall has only contain a few layers of peptidoglycano outer membrane that covers wallo inner membraneo Effect on antibiotics

Hypothesis:

 

If both man-made and herbal remedies are used against bacteria, then the man-made ones will be

more effective.

Materials:

• 1 molar dandelion root solution• 1 molar peppermint solution• Distilled Water• E.Coli • Bacillus cereus• Penicillin• Erythromycin• 20 Petri dishes

o tryptic soy agar• Bunsen burner• Tweezers• Inoculation loop

Procedure:

• Place the gram negative bacteria in ten of the petri dishes, and the gram positive bacteria in the other ten petri dishes

• Create the controls of water and blank discs, and place two in each of the four control dishes (2 b. cereus 2 e. coli)M

• Make two dishes with four discs of dandelion root extract with E. Coli, and likewise with B. Cereus

• Make two dishes with four discs of peppermint extract with E. Coli, and likewise with B. Cereus

• Make two dishes with four discs of penicillin with E. Coli and likewise with B. Cereus

• Make two dishes with four discs of erythromycin with E. Coli and likewise with B. Cereus

• Allow the bacterias to incubate• Measure the zone of inhibition

Data:

Bacillus Cereus Data

Data (2):

Escherichia Coli Data

Data

Standard Deviation-

statistical test of how legitimate your data is

Discussion

My hypothesis: If man-made and herbal remedies are used against bacteria, then the man-made ones will be more effective.

My hypothesis was partially supported.

The Bacillus Cereus results proved my hypothesis true. the erythromycin had a greater zone of inhibition than

the natural remediesThe Escherichia Coli results proved my hypothesis false.

the peppermint had a greater zone of inhibition than the man-made remedies.

This is because...

Discussion (2):

Improvements:

    -use different types of herbal remedies    -use stronger antibiotics

Thank You

Blaze. “Herbal Remedy Chart.” Gardens Ablaze. N.p., 8 Oct. 2010. Web. 11 Dec. 2011. <http://www.gardensablaze.com/ HerbRemedies.htm>.Caine, Philip. “2008 Project Summary.” California State Science Fair. USC, n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2011. <http://www.usc.edu/ CSSF/ History/ 2008/ Projects/ J1805.pdf>.Carter, J. Stein. “Bacteria.” Biology. CLC, 2 Nov. 2004. Web. 18 Sept. 2011. <http://biology.clc.uc.edu/ courses/ bio106/ bacteria.htm>.“E.Coli Infection- Home Treatment.” WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2011. <http://www.webmd.com/ a-to-z-guides/ e-coli-infection-home-treatment>.Healthwise Staff. “E. Coli Infection- Treatment Overview.” Everyday Health. N.p., 14 June 2010. Web. 18 Sept. 2011. <http://www.everydayhealth.com/ health-center/ e-coli-infection-treatment-overview.aspx>.Rubin, Julian T. “E. Coli.” Juliant Rubin. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2011. <http://www.juliantrubin.com/ topicprojects/ ecoliprojects.html>.Sace, J. “Gram Positive vs. Gram Negative Bacterial Cell Walls.” Bright Hub. Bright Hub, 1 Apr. 2011. Web. 19 Dec. 2011. <http://www.brighthub.com/ science/ medical/ articles/ 20274.aspx>.Todar, Kenneth. “Bacillus Cereus.” Textbook of Bacteriology. Kenneth Todar, Fall 2008. Web. 14 Dec. 2011. <http://textbookofbacteriology.net/ B.cereus.html>.