Preview

Effect of Spices and Herbs on Inhibiting Bacteria Growth

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
775 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Effect of Spices and Herbs on Inhibiting Bacteria Growth
Research Plan
Research Question: What is the antimicrobial effect of common household spices/herbs such as cinnamon, cloves, mustard, ginger, and garlic, on the zone of inhibition in the Staphylococcus epidermis covered nutrient agar?
Hypothesis: If 3 teaspoons of chopped cinnamon, cloves, mustard, ginger, and garlic steep in half a cup of boiling water for 15 hours and then placed in nutrient agar covered with Staphylococcus epidermis (gram positive) bacteria for 24 hours (in an incubator), garlic will have the strongest antimicrobial effect. This is because of allicin (an active principle of garlic homogenates), which has a chemical reaction with thiol groups of enzymes in the bacteria. Ginger will have the least antimicrobial effect. This is because there are not as many chemical reactions with enzymes in the bacteria.
Risks: The risks of using Staphylococcus epidermis bacteria to test in microbiology are few. Gloves must be worn while handling Staphylococcus epidermis to reduce any risk of spreading the bacteria. Regarding sterilization and disposal, risks include an open flame used to sterilize tweezers as well as chemicals used for disposal. While sterilizing tweezers, gloves must continue to be worn to help with protection from the open flame, although if burned, cold water must be immediately applied to the injury. During disposal, keep gloves on to protect skin from the 10% bleach. Never ingest any liquids used during the experiment and always use gloves to protect the skin.
Materials:
Sterile distilled water (control)
Steeped stick of cinnamon
Steeped fresh cloves
Steeped fresh mustard seed
Steeped fresh ginger root
Steeped fresh garlic
Staphylococcus epidermis
Nutrient agar plates (6)
Micropipette
Filter disks
Incubator
Strainer
5 bowls
Boiling water
Ruler
Tweezers
Gloves
Alcohol
Alcohol/bleach mixture
Candle
Cotton swabs
Sharpie
Tape
Strainer

Procedure 1:
1. Heat up at least 3 cups of water until boiling.


Bibliography: Dec. 2013. 2."Cinnamon, Ground." Whfoods.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2013. 5. Singh, M., & Singh, N. (2011). Comparison of antimicrobial activity of herbs & spices and their phytochemical determination
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Mico Analysis
    • 292 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Mico Analysis

    Abstract: The purpose of this lab was to use the Kirby-Bauer method to test the sensitivity of Staphylococcus epidermis of specific areas on a petri dish. The antibiotics were gentamicin, novobiacin, and penicillin. This resembled a culture and sensitivity test that is preformed at the hospital’s laboratory to find out the resistance of a microorganism. This experiment was meant to use the naked eye and a magnifying glass when necessary.…

    • 292 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Essential Oil Research Papers
    • 240 Words
    • 1 Page

    Essential Oil Research Papers

    The use of essential oils began in the nineteenth century being used as flavour and aroma enhancers and quickly became popular. Since then they have become widespread over several industries pharmaceutical, cosmetic, medicinal and in food. There are 300 of the 3,000 different essential oils known being used commercially. As the synthetic preservatives became widely used because of their cheap production and relentless antimicrobial activity the use of essential oils as preservatives became less common and less studied. Nowadays synthetic preservatives such as parabens are frowned upon their use and products containing them will not be bought for fear of their health issues. The over use of antibiotics has led to microbial resistance against…

    • 240 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Salvia Officinalis Research Paper
    • 759 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Salvia Officinalis Research Paper

    oils found that the oils isolated for 2 and 3 h were stronger free radical scavengers, at the same time as with the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) way, the highest antioxidant values had been acquired in the oils isolated for 30 min, 2 and 3 h. hydroxyl radical scavenging and lipoxygenase activity assays showed the satisfactory outcomes with oils isolated for 1 and 3 h. with the deoxyribose way, sage oils at concentrations <1000 mg L(-1) confirmed higher interest than mannitol. The important oil of S. Officinalis proved very weak antimicrobial hobby (Miguel et al.,…

    • 759 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Effectiveness of Basil Plant for Urinary Tract Infection
    • 3522 Words
    • 15 Pages

    Effectiveness of Basil Plant for Urinary Tract Infection

    The use of antibiotics as a treatment is very costly. Oral antibiotics may not be healing. Because of this, the researches with great interest would like to study the therapeutic effectiveness of Basil as an oral treatment and an adjunct treatment of Urinary Tract Infection.…

    • 3522 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Effectiveness of Garlic in Fighting Bacteria Abstract
    • 276 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Effectiveness of Garlic in Fighting Bacteria Abstract

    This experiment determined whether garlic was effective in fighting bacteria. This project interested me because garlic is traditionally used in medicine and is known to combat bacteria.…

    • 276 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Is Tea-Tree Oil Effective in Controlling and Minimising the Growth of the Escherichia Coli Bacteria?
    • 6782 Words
    • 28 Pages

    Is Tea-Tree Oil Effective in Controlling and Minimising the Growth of the Escherichia Coli Bacteria?

    Firstly I would like to thank my supervisor, Mrs Kate Barry for her continual support throughout the course of my extended essay. Thank you for our encouraging discussions and for inspiring me to pursue this area of investigation during our Biology classes. Thank you for always making time for me and my Extended Essay whenever I needed your advice and support.…

    • 6782 Words
    • 28 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Herbal Medicine Versus Prescription Drugs
    • 425 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Herbal Medicine Versus Prescription Drugs

    Herbal medicine is oldest and the most common system used worldwide but now it is less recognized because of the advancement of technology in this modern world, people usually use laboratory produced medicines which are common in drug stores the reason that made herbal medicines the least prioritized though it is obviously hundred percent organic compared to laboratory produced medicines. Herbal medicines were commonly used in the traditional times but now, people want the herbal medicines to be prepared easily, to be taken up easily without such procedures and to be tasted with different fruit flavors. With this, the researchers came up with the idea to make a study to prove that herbal medicines are more reliable and effective than laboratory produced medicines.…

    • 425 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    PEPPER FOR LOCAL ANESTHESIA
    • 3582 Words
    • 13 Pages

    PEPPER FOR LOCAL ANESTHESIA

    The Problem and its Background Introduction Black pepper is a common name of the plant Piper nigrum that belongs to the family Solanaceae. It is one of the greatest spices ever available to man to the prehistoric times up to the present1. Black pepper, the dried unripe fruit, is just one of the products that can be derived from the berries of the plant. Black pepper has aromatic, slightly musty odor, spicy but not hot and has tangy flavors that stimulates the senses. For that reason, black pepper is well known throughout the world as a culinary spice and condiment. Like all eastern spices, pepper was historically both a seasoning and a medicine.2 Black peppercorns figure in remedies in Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani medicine in South Asia. The 5th century Syriac Book of Medicines prescribes pepper (or perhaps long pepper) for such illnesses as constipation, diarrhea, earache, gangrene, heart disease, hernia, hoarseness, indigestion, insect bites, insomnia, joint pain, liver problems, lung disease, oral abscesses, sunburn, tooth decay, and toothaches.3…

    • 3582 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Common Microorganisms
    • 1041 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Common Microorganisms

    These techniques of microbiology are used in the following five experiments. The first experiment used Trypticase Soy Nutrient Agar (TSA), which can grow a wide variety of organisms and contains casein and soybean meal and a minute NaCl, to study the effectiveness of alcohol as a skin antiseptic. The second experiment tested the effectiveness of different kinds of mouthwashes as antiseptics using TSA as well. Experiment number three explored the normal human flora existing on skin and in nasal cavities, and two types of agar were used, including TSA and Mannitol Salt Agar, which contains manitol sugar, phenol red, and 7.5% NaCl. Mannitol Salt Agar tests for the presence of staphylococci bacteria that can survive in the salt that inhibits the growth of most other bacteria. Some forms of staph bacteria ferment mannitol and produce a yellow color around the colonies, which can easily be seen against the red background. The fourth experiment studied the number of bacteria in a diluted sample of uncooked hamburger meat using nutrient agar and a Quebec counter to count the colonies. The final experiment involved the growth of yeast cells under aerobic and anaerobic conditions.…

    • 1041 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Bacterial Activity Lab Report
    • 939 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Bacterial Activity Lab Report

    The results show that tea tree and eucalyptus have about the same antibacterial activity as the positive control (ampicillin) used in this experiment. Oregano and colloidal silver’s zone of inhibition were closer to h2O, which concludes that at the amount used for both there is no antibacterial…

    • 939 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    infection control
    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages

    infection control

    Berman et all. (2012) states that Standard precaution is work practice required technique to be used by healthcare workers to minimise the spread of micro-organism. Standard precaution includes good hand hygiene, the use of personal protective equipment(PPE), appropriate handling and disposal of sharps and other contaminate waste, and use of aseptic techniques. Berman et all. (2012) describes that hygiene is widely recognised to be the single most effective activity for minimising the transmission of infections.An inappropriate techniques when washing hands can lead the areas of the hands to still be contaminated by micro-organisms therefor, its very important to adopt the right technique. The australian guidelines for infection control in…

    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Cinnamon
    • 312 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Cinnamon

    Valued in ancient times as currency and once considered more precious than gold, cinnamon is one of the world’s oldest known spices. Cinnamon is actually the brown bark of cinnamon trees. It is available in its dried tubular form known as a quill or as ground powder. The two varieties of cinnamon are Chinese and Ceylon. They have similar flavor but the cinnamon from Ceylon is sweeter, more refined, and more difficult to find in local markets. Cinnamon has a blood sugar control effect. If you season a high-carb food with cinnamon, it will help lower the impact of your blood sugar levels. Cinnamon also slows the rate at which the stomach empties meals. Cinnamon is proven to lower blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes. Cinnamon has unique healing abilities that come from oils found in its bark. If you have a physical injury, blood clumps together in blood platelets to stop your bleeding. When your blood does this, it makes it hard for your blood to flow. Cinnamon prevents unwanted clumping of blood platelets by releasing a fatty acid that reduces the formation of inflammatory molecules. This puts cinnamon in the “anti-inflammatory” category. Cinnamon is also considered “anti-microbial”. It can be used as a food preservative and can stop the growth of bacteria, yeast, and fungi. Cinnamon is such a powerful antioxidant that compared to many others, it prevents oxidation more than any other spice. Cinnamon is not only anti-microbial, but even just smelling cinnamon boosts brain activity! Scientists did an experiment where participants were exposed to four different conditions. The smells were no odors, peppermint odor, jasmine, and cinnamon. Cinnamon showed the most positive effect on brain function. Cinnamon is an excellent source of manganese, dietary fiber, iron, and calcium. This enables cinnamon to improve colon health and protect against heart…

    • 312 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Is Honey Better Than Sugar?
    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Is Honey Better Than Sugar?

    Manuka honey inhibits the development of Streptococcus pyogenes biofilms and causes reduced expression of two fibronectin binding proteins. Microbiology, March 2012 158: 781-790, doi:…

    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Antimicrobial Activity of Some Herbs on Staphylococcus Aureus
    • 5892 Words
    • 24 Pages

    Antimicrobial Activity of Some Herbs on Staphylococcus Aureus

    The metabolites found in spices and herbs have been a fertile ground for investigation and for moving the frontiers of biochemical knowledge forward particularly as dietary components with considerable impact on human health. Nearly 75% of all orthodox medicines are of herbal origin.…

    • 5892 Words
    • 24 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Example of Investigatory Document
    • 357 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Example of Investigatory Document

    The feasibility of guava extract (Psidium guajava) and Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis) as hand sanitizer…

    • 357 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More

Related Topics