Healing Honey: An Evaluation of the Antimicrobial Effects of California Monofloral Honeys

Overview

Objectives/Goals The purpose of this science fair project is to investigate the antimicrobial effects of California monofloral honeys in the inhibition of Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli K-12, and Rhizopus sporangia. The hypothesis was that after 72 hours, all four honey varietals would maintain a greater zone of inhibition than the control of double distilled deionized water. Methods/Materials Four monofloral honeys: Clover, Star Thistle, Blackberry, and Orange Blossom were diluted to a 10% concentration. Double distilled deionized water served as the control. The microbial cultures: Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli K-12, and Rhizopus sporangia were plated onto petri dishes using aseptic techniques. Four millimeter discs soaked in the test variable were placed in each sector of the petri dishes. The plates were incubated for 72 hours at maximum growth temperature and measured for zone of inhibition. This was repeated for 15 trials per variable for each microbial culture. Results When measuring the zone of inhibition for Rhizopus sporangia, all four honey varietals as well as the control exhibited less than one millimeter of inhibition. For Escherichia coli K-12 and Bacillus subtilis, all four honey varietals had less than one millimeter of inhibition. The control exhibited an average of 12 milllimeters of inhibition for Escherichia coli and 14.2 millimeters for Bacillus subtilis. Conclusions/Discussion All four honeys failed to inhibit the growth of the microbial cultures tested. Although many studies indicate that honey can inhibit microbial growth, the monofloral California honeys tested are not antimicrobial agents. The E.coli K-12 and Bacillus subtilis controls using double distilled deionized water inhibited their growth. This may be due to water leaching out from the paper discs and preventing bacterial growth.This data suggests that water is a better inhibitor of microbial growth than monofloral honeys.

Competition history

• CSEF 2014 Microbiology (Medical) (Junior Division Only) · Entry J1604

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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