The efficacy of the antibiotic properties of garlic and tea tree oil against Kocuria rhizophilia [Scientific Research Paper]
Abstract
In this experiment we tested the capability of two substances, Allium sativum (common garlic) and Melaleuca spp. (tea tree) essential oil against a control and whether they effectively inhibited the growth of bacteria, specifically Kocuria rhizophilia. A bacterial lawn was created using agar petri dishes and live bacterial samples which then had the two test samples and the control sample applied to equal areas on two different petri dishes. The petri dishes were then left to incubate for a week before the resulting data was collected. Both samples displayed significant zones of inhibition where the control showed none. Melaleuca spp. essential oil and Allium sativum both express antibiotic properties which are active against Kocuria rhizophilia.
Introduction
With the rise of bacteriology in the 20th century, it has come to the public's attention that there are microorganisms which may cause different diseases and ailments depending if they are pathogenic or not. Since the discovery of this microscopic universe scientists have been working diligently on finding different compounds which exhibit inhibitory effects on these pathogens called antibiotics. However, could this all have been in vain? In the race to defend the human biome from these newly discovered foreign invaders doctors began prescribing antibiotic medicines for every thing, even viruses. Antibiotic compounds of pharmaceutical strength should only be used for chronic bacterial infections. According to the Family Journal of Health, “Antibiotic use—whether appropriate or not—has
been linked to rising rates of antimicrobial resistance, disruption of the gut microbiome leading to Clostridium difficile infections, allergic reactions, and increased health care costs”(2017). The use of antibiotic pharmaceuticals clearly needs to be reevaluated. Antibiotic pharmaceutical medicines are nonspecific and do not target a single bacteria, rather the entire microbiome becomes affected and the balance of gut flora is significantly impacted (Sullivan 2001). Our microbiome is our first line defense against pathogenic microbes attempting to damage our internal and external system. The gut possesses the largest reservoir of microbes in the entire body. These microorganisms act as a barrier to other bacteria effectively keeping them from traveling outside of the intestinal lumen (Hammer 2015). Learning to appropriately moderate and maintain our microbiome is essential to developing and sustaining a healthy body. Damage that is afflicted to the balance of probiotic microorganisms in the human biome allows pathogenic microbes to easily infiltrate the system and wreak havoc. According to Informa Healthcare, “Widespread overuse of antibiotics has led to the emergence of numerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria; among these are antibiotic-subsisting strains capable of surviving in environments with antibiotics as the sole carbon source” (2016). Now that we have been using antibiotic pharmaceuticals for some time and research has shown the negative impacts that they stand to exhibit we need to address how we might be able to use other compounds in place of pharmaceuticals and whether they will display the same negative effects of long term use of antibiotic pharmaceuticals. Allium sativum and Melaleuca spp. essential oil both have antimicrobial properties, therefore both samples should display zones of inhibition.
Materials and Methods
Using aseptic techniques, a live culture of Kocuria rhizophilia was applied using a sterilized swab to two sterile agar plates using the bacterial lawn method. The agar plates were then divided evenly into three parts using a marker on the backside of the plate. A a paper disk soaked in Melaleuca spp. essential oil was added to the center of one section, an equal sized piece of raw Allium sativum was placed in the second section, and a sterile paper disk soaked in water was applied to the third section as a control. The plates were then labeled and placed in an incubator at 27° Celsius for one week. After the allotted time had passed the cultures were removed from the incubator and the presence of a zone of inhibition was noted and measured.
Results
Both samples displayed very similar results on both tests. On the first plate, Melaleuca spp. essential oil displayed a zone of inhibition of 3cm, whereas Allium sativum displayed a zone of inhibition of 1.5cm, and the control showed no zone of inhibition (see figure 1).
On the second plate, Melaleuca spp. essential oil displayed a zone of inhibition of 3cm, whereas Allium sativum displayed a zone of inhibition of 2cm, and the control showed no zone of inhibition (see figure 2).
Discussion
As we had predicted, both Melaleuca spp. essential oil and Allium sativum effectively displayed antibiotic properties and inhibited the growth of Kocuria rhizophilia while both plates showed the control, water, having no inhibitory effects. While Melaleuca spp. essential oil exhibited the most widespread zone of inhibition, this is somewhat arbitrary in this experiment. The solubility of Melaleuca spp. essential oil and the compounds in Allium sativum were not tested and thus the zones of inhibition are just markers that the samples do exhibit antibiotic properties. As Mateus de Oliveira Negreiros et al. Discovered in their experiment, Baccharis psiadioides essential oil inhibited growth and displayed antibiotic properties against antibiotic-resistant Enterococcus faecalis strains (2015). Most pharmaceutical antibiotic medicines are derived naturally and further engineered in a laboratory. Now that research shows that these engineered medicines are causing detriment and creating strains that even feed off of the antibiotics we are using perhaps we need to refocus our attention towards the roots of these pharmaceuticals and test their efficacy against common pathogens.
Literature Cited
Fiore, D., Fettic, L.,Wright, S., Ferrara, B. (2017). Antibiotic overprescribing: Still a major concern . The Journal of Family Practice, 66(12), 730-736. 0094-3509.
Hammer, A. (2015). The Effects of Alcohol on Post-Burn Intestinal Barrier, Immune Cells, and Microbiome. Current Reviews ALCOHOL RESEARCH, 37(2), pp.1-014. 2168-3492.
Negreiros, M. D., Pawlowski, Â, Zini, C. A., Soares, G. L., Motta, A. D., & Frazzon, A. P. (2016). Antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity of Baccharis psiadioides essential oil against antibiotic-resistant Enterococcus faecalis strains. Pharmaceutical Biology, 54(12), 3272-3279. doi:10.1080/13880209.2016.1223700
Rashid, M., Weintraub, A., & Nord, C. E. (2012). Effect of new antimicrobial agents on the ecological balance of human microflora. Anaerobe, 18(2), pp.249-253. doi:10.1016/j.anaerobe.2011.11.005
Woappi, Y., Gabani, P., Singh, A., & Singh, O. V. (2014). Antibiotrophs: The complexity of antibiotic-subsisting and antibiotic-resistant microorganisms. Critical Reviews in Microbiology, pp.1-14. doi:10.3109/1040841x.2013.875982
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Thanks for sharing! Always a nice reminder of the potency of Garlic and Tea Tree Oil. . . I use both daily...
I am curious, tho, as was mentioned, about whether or not the continued use of either of them shows the same affects and continued use of antibiotics....
My guess is that, unlike antibiotics, the tea tree or garlic is not "anti-biotic" but more of something along the lines of "pro-benefici-biotic" where they promote the conversion of bad bacterias to good bacterias. . . similar to EM kind of,
I am curious tho
Well, if they were simply pro-benefici-biotic then there would be growth of the cultured bacteria and no zone of inhibition. The ZOI shows that the two certainly are antibiotic. I would venture to guess that there could still be a chance for resiliency to develop, unless there is some mechanism of action that microbes just cannot adapt to.
Thank you for the comment:)
ah haha. . yup good point :-p
and thank You
Awesome!
I've been using tea tree oil for over 30 years.
I'd love to see similar tests done with coconut oil or just the lauric acid fraction.
Coconut oil also makes an excellent carrier for other anti-microbial essential oils so maybe the results could be enhanced.
Tea tree oil and oregano are two of my favorites, I use coconut oil as a carrier for them every single time. Coconut oil does have antimicrobial properties, but if I remember correctly that they are very minute in their range of efficacy. It would be cool to see the actual range though and have it for my own notes. Maybe I'll run that one in the future. I really want to take a sample from my cat's mouth and test different oils on the pathogens found in cat saliva - they say if you get a cat bite that you should immediately go to the hospital and get antibiotics.
It came to my layman's attention some time back that I always feel better and get well sooner when I consume a food that stings.
Tea-tree oil, raw garlic, onion, even lemon and lime are stingy - and always good for us.
That sting is the compound activating the nociceptors, so it is actually doing minute amounts of damage (i.e. - the citric acid in lemons). However, you are correct that many of these things are good for us but I don't know that I would venture to say that all stingy foods/substances are good for you nor would I say always. Definitely a good observation though!
Great read, i always wondered what are the effects of the garlic and tea tree oil on our own normal flora? can our flora become resistant to those two? by what mechanism do they work? can that said resistance pass to pathogenic bacteria?
PS- your post gave me PTSD of my microbiology classes
Absolutely, I have the same question constantly in my head. I know that pharmaceuticals are nonspecific, but are more herbal antibiotics more specific? I would certainly think that the pathogens could become resistant to the herbal antibiotics too, as the bottleneck effect coupled with the founder effect could certainly cause more and more resistance as we focus more on using them. But then again, garlic and tea tree have been around for quite some time, heh.
Oh man, I wish my course studies had micro in it- alas, I am studying biochem.
I had biochem too, the most basic one, i whish i could go back and take it again, all i know about biochem i learned on the internet because in college i was more concerned with being drunk xD
I am working on a degree in biochemistry so I will be going pretty far with it. :) Hopefully I don't get too drunk though, I do like to drink! XD
I followed you, waiting to see more biochem stuff, i love this stuff, all sorts and shapes of science
Good post.
Thank you.
It's nice to see how effective the tea tree oil really is. I scraped my foot open on a camping trip last summer and got a minor infection. I used tea oil on it for a few fays and it healed quickly. Thanks for writing this article!