Biology Project Abstract
CAPSAICIN AS AN ANTI-BACTERIAL AGENT
Presenter:
James Holmes, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, 1500 West Sullivan Road, Aurora, IL 60506; onerib18@imsa.edu
Advisor:
Judith Scheppler, Ph.D., Coordinator of Student Inquiry, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, 1500 West Sullivan Road, Aurora, IL 60506; quella@imsa.edu; 630-907-5899
Abstract:
People in warmer climates-where bacteria can thrive when food is not refrigerated-tend to eat hotter, spicier foods. It is possible then that herbs and spices do more than just season food, but kill bacteria as well. Using habaņero hot sauce in the Kirby-Bauer, assay zones of bacterial inhibition were measured. It was found that habaņero hot sauce killed B. cereus, E. coli, S. capitus, and S. arizonae. With this in mind it was then thought that capsaicin-the molecule that makes hot peppers hot-could be the molecule acting as an anti-bacterial agent. It was found that at relatively high concentrations, capsaicin only killed B. cereus, not the other three bacteria. A simple explanation would be that at higher concentrations, capsaicin would kill the other three bacteria. It is also possible and more probable that there are some subtle activities going on that make B. cereus more susceptible to capsaicin. Finally, it is even possible that the vinegar present in hot sauce was able to kill some of the bacteria. With all this in mind, determining the method by which capsaicin was able to kill bacteria will be the aim of further experiments.