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 strain Gram positive o has many thick layers of peptidoglycan (sugar protein shell) o Effect on antibiotics Gram negative o cell wall has only contain a few layers of peptidoglycan o outer membrane that covers wall o inner membrane o 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 remedies The 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

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