The Effects of Fruit Juices and Ampicillin on Escherichia coli

1. The Effects of Fruit Juices and Ampicillin on Escherichia coli Kelly Mannion~ Academy of Notre Dame

2. Question • If taking water with ampicillin is replaced by fruit juice will it interfere with the medicine’s effectiveness against E. coli?

3. Background and Rational • Juices are rich in antioxidants • Escherichia coli (E. coli)- gram-negative bacteria that lives in people’s intestines that can cause infections • Ampicillin- a form of penicillin that fights or prevents the growth of the bacteria in a person’s body • Acidic fruit juices can harm antibiotics

4. Rationale • This investigation was designed to test and find out the effects of ampicillin on E. coli when combined with fruit juice as compared to water.

5. Hypothesis • If juice is added to ampicillin, then the citric juices will hinder the effectiveness of the ampicillin against E. coli

6. Procedure • Dip 3 sterile disks in orange juice, 3 sterile disks in pomegranate juice, 3 sterile disks in cranberry juice, 3 sterile disks in grapefruit juice • Dip 3 sterile disks in sterile, distilled water and 3 in ampicillin and allow all to dry. • Mix 5 solutions consisting of 1mL of ampicillin and 5mL of each juice and sterile water. • Allow 3 sterile disks to absorb in each solution and dry in separate petri dishes. • Pipette 1ml of E. coli on a petri dish with a nutrient agar and place a sterile disk for each juice on it. • Do the same for another petri dish and place 4 sterile disks on it (ampicillin, ampicillin and orange juice, ampicillin and cranberry juice, ampicillin and grapefruit juice).

7. Procedure (continued) • Pipette 1ml of E. coli on another petri dish and place 3 sterile disks on it (water, ampicillin and pomegranate juice, ampicillin and sterile distilled water). • Seal and label the petri dishes accordingly and place in an incubator. • Repeat steps 6-7 for 2 additional trials. • Allow the petri dishes to stay in the incubator for 48 hours then remove and observe. • Record the zone of inhibitions from one side to the other for each sterile disk (mm) and make observations.

8. Variables • Independent: Fruit juice used (Cranberry, Pomegranate, Grapefruit, Orange) • Dependent: Zone of inhibition • Control: Sterile water, ampicillin

9. Data

10. Data

11. Data

12. Data

13. Conclusion • Fruit juices and sterile water do affect both the growth of E. coli and the ampicillin • No statistical difference between the groups of data collected • No fruit juice can be determined as the most effective or harmful in aiding the ampicillin

14. Limitations • One petri dish had to be discounted-inconsistency in the data for each of the pomegranate, grapefruit, and sterile water mixtures with ampicillin • Possibility that the petri dishes were not coated evenly • Various incubation times

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