Quorum Quenching Potential of Phytochemicals on Chromobacterium violaceum Quorum Sensing

Overview

Research Advisor: Dr. Juliana Carvalho De Arruda Caulkins The purpose of this project was to evaluate the antibacterial potential of phytochemicals rutin, syringic acid, and Ziziphus mucronata extract on Chromobacterium violaceum quorum sensing. Z. mucronata extracts were imported from South Africa, then extracted in the lab; a SEM imaging series was conducted to evaluate for contamination and further develop a portfolio on it. The null hypothesis was if plant compounds are tested individually, then they will have similar efficiency as current antibiotics; the alternative hypothesis was if plant compounds are tested individually, then they will have greater efficiency than current antibiotics. While the alternative hypothesis was supported by comparing averages, not all of the results had a significant difference to the positive control. The three assays used in the experiment were swarming motility, violacein inhibition, and biofilm inhibition. Throughout the assays, Z. mucronata leaf, and bark extract had the strongest antimicrobial results: both performed statistically stronger than the positive control in at least one assay. In the violacein inhibition assay, Z. mucronata leaf extract had a statistically significant difference to the gentamicin. Additionally, Z. mucronata bark extract had a statistically stronger antibacterial effect to the gentamicin in regards to biofilm inhibition. The results of this project suggest that all of the plant compounds tested had possessed antimicrobial potential as they performed better than the negative control in most assays, but they did not consistently perform stronger than the positive control. The results of this project support the case to further expand on these phytochemicals from an antimicrobial standpoint.