Plaque's Preference: How Do Sucrose, Honey, and Splenda Affect the Growth Rate of Streptococcus mutans?

Overview

Objectives/Goals The purpose of my experiment was to determine which commonly available food sweetener, table sugar (sucrose), Splenda (Sucralose), or honey, was least likely to promote the growth of streptococcus mutans. Methods/Materials Streptococcus mutans was inoculated onto plates of Trypticase Soy Agar (TSA) media with either 2% honey, 2% sucrose, or 2% sucralose. Plain plates of TSA were inoculated as a control. Plates were incubated at body temperature for 152 hours. The diameter of each of the colonies was measure to determine the amount of growth in each environment. Results Sucrose grew the biggest colonies of the sweeteners and honey the smallest colonies. The control grew the biggest colonies. Conclusions/Discussion Honey was been shown to have antibacterial properties which may have been the reason for the smaller colonies. Sucrose is a highly refined sugar which bacteria can use efficiently. Sucralose, when packaged as Splenda, has maltodextrin and dextrose added to it. The bacteria may not have used the sucralose, but grew off the added sugars instead. it is not clear why the control grew the biggest colonies unless adding sugar to the medium threw off the balance of nutrients to water.

Competition history

• CSEF 2011 Microbiology (General) · Entry J1523

Resources

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