The Effect of Garlic on Thr Gowth of E.Coli

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The Effect of Garlic on the Growth of E. coli Kellyn Barber Takoma Park Middle School 2011 - 12 Abstract Many bacteria called “superbugs” are becoming resistant to antibiotics. If garlic inhibits the growth of E. coli, it might inhibit the growth of “superbugs.” This could save lives because there will be less people dying from these bacteria. The hypothesis was that if garlic were applied to E. coli, then the bacteria colony would be killed off, because garlic contains allicin, which is an antimicrobial substance. This experiment was conducted to see if garlic would stop the growth of E. coli. Three separate trials were conducted. In each trial there were three samples being tested and measured for growth. The first sample was milk, the second sample was milk and E. coli, and the third sample was milk, E. coli and garlic. After about a 24 hour period of incubation in test tubes, each sample was transferred to a Petri dish containing blood agar and put in a warm environment. For 5 days the samples in the Petri dishes were measured for growth. In trials 1 and 2, the Petri dish with the milk, E. coli and garlic grew less rapidly than the other Petri dishes (one contains milk, and the other contains milk and E. coli). In trial 3, the Petri dish with the milk, E. coli and garlic did not grow less rapidly than the other Petri dishes. However, the Petri dishes got infected, so the sample sizes could have been affected. The result that garlic has an inhibitory effect on E. coli supports the original hypothesis. Key Terms: bacteria, E. coli, allicin, antimicrobial, garlic Introduction and Review of Literature This project was conducted in order to learn about the effect of garlic on fighting Escherichia coli (E. coli). The testable question was “What is the effect of garlic on E. coli?” E. coli is a bacterium. Bacteria are

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