Date of Award
2017
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Natural Sciences
First Advisor
Oberle, Brad
Area of Concentration
Biology
Abstract
Plants interact with the environment through chemicals known as secondary metabolites. With the advent of modern chemical technologies, mankind learned to extract these secondary metabolites and use them for developing new drugs. Through an investigation of the interaction between plant extracts and bacteria using Moringa oleifera seed extracts and the bacteria Staphylococcus epidermis, Escherichia coli and Bacillus cereus as a representative model, we not only increase our understanding of plant-bacteria relationships, but also potentially lay a foundation for the development of new drugs. The results showed that the Moringa extracts have an idiosyncratic interaction for each species of bacteria: inhibitive on S. epidermitis, facilitating growth on E. coli while being inconclusive for B. cereus. This conclusion points to a potential candidate for new antibiotics, as well as a predicting factor for herbal product interactions.
Recommended Citation
Huynh, Tam, "THE INTERACTION OF MORINGA (Moringa oleifera Lam.) SEED EXTRACTS AND MICROBES" (2017). Theses & ETDs. 5371.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/5371