Determining the Greatest Antibacterial Effect of Four Natural Extracts on Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria and Subsequently Testing its Preservative Potentiality on Foods

Abstract

Without antibiotics, individuals would be more susceptible to various diseases which could possibly lead to death. This could all be easily prevented if these unwanted pathogens were to be eradicated inside of us. Several commonly disregarded or discarded resources from the environment contain many benefits, such as Carica papaya seeds (papaya seeds), Solenopsis invicta venom(fire ant venom), Calliphora coloradensis larvae(blowfly larvae), and Alnus rubra bark (red alder bark). Our objective was to test whether papaya seeds, red alder bark, blowfly larvae, and red ant venom are an effective antibiotics on ampicillin resistant Escherichia coli(E. coliS17-1) and nalidixic acid resistant Escherichia coli(E. coliJMP109).  To further apply this experiment the most effective antibiotic was put to the test and its preservative properties were analyzed. Carica papaya seeds showcased great antibacterial properties with large zones of inhibition compared to the others. A paste composed of Carica papaya seeds was used as a food preservative on fish and strawberries. In the follow-up experiment, the fish control began to develop dark brown spots during the testing period, while the treatment group experienced no new growths in comparison to the control.The strawberry control changed in colour but did not have any growth until the fourth day, while the treatment began growing white fuzzy growth on the third day. Based on these findings we do see some preservative properties in the Carica papaya seeds. Further research could be conducted to identify the types of growth present on the sole fish and strawberries.