Antibiotics Naturally

ANTIBIOTICS NATURALLY
OBJECTIVE
THE OBJECTIVE OF MY PROJECT IS TO FIND OUT IF THE NATURAL ANTIBIOTICS

GARLIC, TEA TREE OIL, AND OIL OF OREGANO ARE AS GOOD AT KILLING
BACTERIA AS THE SYNTHETIC ANTIBIOTIC ERYTHROMYCIN.
INDEX
S.NO TOPIC PAGE NO
1 ABSTRACT 4
2 INTRODUCTION 4
3 MATERIALS REQUIRED 4
4 PROCEDURE 5
5 RESULT 6
6 CONCLUSION 7
7 BIBLIOGRAPHY 8
ABSTRACT
The purpose of my project is to find out if the natural antibiotics garlic, tea tree oil, and oil of
oregano are as good at killing bacteria as the synthetic antibiotic erythromicen.
INTRODUCTION
Many people believe that synthetic antibiotics are made specifically to fight bacteria and are
more effective than natural antibiotics. These antibacterial drugs either kill the bacteria or they
stop the bacterial growth, which allows the body’s immune system to heal from disease or
infection. Originally, antibiotic drugs were produced from materials found in nature. Now,
antibiotic drugs are all produced in the lab, synthetically
. The problem with these pharmaceutical antibiotics is that many times they’re not being used
properly. For example, people will sometimes take antibiotics for viral infections, even though
antibiotics can’t treat viral infections. Other times, people will only take a part of their prescribed
dose. This misuse creates drug-resistant bacteria or “superbugs”. It is estimated that 8000
Canadians die each year from antibiotic-resistant infections. (www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/46057.html
Canadian Institutes of Health Research, 5/12/12)
Natural antibiotics work by not just killing the bacteria, but also improving the body's natural
ability to fight off bacterial infections in the future. Unlike pharmaceutically produced
antibiotics, drug resistance does not develop against naturally occuring antibiotics. Also, natural
antibiotics will not kill the useful bacteria that live in our bodies and help us break down the food
we eat.
MATERIALS REQUIRED
1. Garlic
2. Tea tree oil (100% pure)
3. Oil of oregano (100% pure)
4. Erythromycin antibiotic sensitivity discs
5. Blank sterile discs
6. 20 agar plates (TSA tryptic soy agar petri dishes)
7. Rubbing alcohol
8. Tweezers
9. Pestle
10. Bowl
11. Sterile swab applicators
12. Sterile gloves
13. Tape
14. Marker
PROCEDURE
1. Sterilize the bowl, pestle, and the tweezers with rubbing alcohol.
2. Label the agar plates: 4 for the garlic, 4 for the tea tree oil, 4 for the oil of oregano, 4 for the
Erythromycin antibiotic, and 4 for the control.
3. Refrigerate the agar plates.
4. The next morning, take a sterile swab and wipe the inside of your mouth. Then, streak the agar
with the swab. Repeat this step for each of the twenty agar plates, using a new sterile swab each
time.
5. Tape the petri dishes closed and incubate them in a dark drawer at room temperature for 48
hours.
6. After 48 hours, observe the bacterial growth. Continue to observe the bacterial growth until a
week has passed.
7. Wearing sterile gloves and using fresh garlic cloves, peel and crush them with a sterile pestle
in the sterile bowl. With the sterile tweezers soak four sterile discs in the liquid and place one in
each of the petri dishes labelled garlic.
8. Sterilize the forceps again and soak four sterile discs in the 100% pure tea tree oil and place
one in each of the petri dishes labelled tea tree oil.
9. Sterilize the forceps again and soak four sterile discs in the 100% pure oil of oregano and
place one in each of the petri dishes labelled oil of oregano.
10. Sterilize the forceps again and place an Erythromycin antibiotic disc in each of the petri
dishes labelled Erythromycin.
11. Sterilize the forceps again and place a blank sterile disc in each of the petri dishes labelled
control.
12. Incubate all the plates in a dark drawer at room temperature for 24 hours.
13. Check the petri dishes for zones of inhibition (the circular region around the paper disc)
every 24 hours.
14. After 5 days, measure the diameters of the zones of inhibition on all the petri dishes and
record the data.
15. Use the equation for the area of a circle to find the area of each zone of inhibition. Average
all the areas for each of the antibiotics.
RESULT AND ANALYSIS

CONCLUSION
Some natural antibiotics can be as effective at killing bacteria as synthetic (pharmaceutical)
antibiotics. Although, my hypothesis was correct and the synthetic antibiotic, erythromycin, was
the most effective at killing bacteria, the natural antibiotic tea tree oil was almost as effective.
The erythromycin was the most effective with the area of the zone of inhibition measuring an
average of 103.86 mm². The tea tree oil was a close second, with the area of its zone of inhibition
measuring an average of 86.59 mm². The oil of oregano was not as effective, ranking third, with
an average zone of inhibition area of 47.17 mm². The garlic had no effect on the bacteria and no
zone of inhibition formed in any of the four trials.
According to my experiment, tea tree oil is a very good alternative to using synthetic antibiotics.
It was only slightly less effective than the erythromycin. If I had given it more time (more than 5
days), it may have become equally as effective. Some natural supplements can take longer to
take their full effect. It would be interesting to do an experiment where the results are recorded
for a longer period of time to make sure that the antibiotics have taken their full effect. Also, in
my experiment, I grew the bacterial culture by swabbing my mouth. I do not know what kind of
bacteria grew in the petri dishes. It would be interesting to do an experiment on specific strains
of bacteria like E. coli and others, to be able to tell how well different natural antibiotics work on
different kinds of bacteria. Also, it would be interesting to do a more detailed experiment with
many different natural antibiotics including; dandelion extract, raw honey, grapefruit seed
extract, and olive leaf extract, to see how effective each one is in killing different kinds of
bacteria. Garlic has been used for thousands of years to treat infections, so I’m not sure why it
didn’t have any effect on my bacteria. Maybe , I should have added some water to the crushed
garlic to make it more liquid.
More research should to be done on the power of herbs and other natural substances as
alternatives to synthetic antibiotics. Using these natural antibiotics can help reduce drug-resistant
bacteria and save lives.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
 Cohen, M. (2001). Analysis of Ordinal Dental Data. Jornal of Dental Research , 309-313.
 Davenport, T. (n.d.). Top 10 Common Dental Problems . Retrieved October 22, 2012,
from About.com: http://dentistry.about.com/od/toothmouthconditions/tp/10-Common-
Dental-Problems.html
 Elverne M Tonn, D. (2012, May 14). Tooth Plaque Causes, Preventions, and Treatements
. Retrieved October 22, 2012, from WebMD:
http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/guide/plaque-and-your-teeth
 Periodontology, A. A. (n.d.). Types of Gum Diesease. Retrieved October 22, 2012, from
Perio: http://perio.org/consumer/types-gum-disease.html

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ANTIBIOTICS NATURALLY

THE OBJECTIVE OF MY PROJECT IS TO FIND OUT IF THE NATURAL ANTIBIOTICS

2. Tea tree oil (100% pure)

3. Oil of oregano (100% pure)

4. Erythromycin antibiotic sensitivity discs

5. Blank sterile discs

6. 20 agar plates (TSA tryptic soy agar petri dishes)

11. Sterile swab applicators

12. Sterile gloves

3. Refrigerate the agar plates.

RESULT AND ANALYSIS

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