THE EFFECTS OF FRUIT JUICES
AND AMPICILLIN ON
ESCHERICHIA COLI
Kelly Mannion~ Academy of Notre Dame
Question
If taking water with ampicillin is
replaced by fruit juice will it interfere
with the medicine’s effectiveness
against E. coli?

Background and Rational




Juices are rich in antioxidants
Escherichia coli (E. coli) - gram-negative bacteria
that lives in people’s intestines that can cause
infections
Ampicillin- a form of penicillin that fights or
prevents the growth of the bacteria in a person’s
body
Acidic fruit juices can harm antibiotics
Rationale

This investigation was designed to test
and find out the effects of ampicillin
on E. coli when combined with fruit
juice as compared to water.
Hypothesis
If juice is added to ampicillin, then
the citric juices will hinder the
effectiveness of the ampicillin against
E. coli

Procedure






Dip 3 sterile disks in orange juice, 3 sterile disks in pomegranate
juice, 3 sterile disks in cranberry juice, 3 sterile disks in grapefruit
juice
Dip 3 sterile disks in sterile, distilled water and 3 in ampicillin and
allow all to dry.
Mix 5 solutions consisting of 1mL of ampicillin and 5mL of each
juice and sterile water.
Allow 3 sterile disks to absorb in each solution and dry in
separate petri dishes.
Pipette 1ml of E. coli on a petri dish with a nutrient agar and
place a sterile disk for each juice on it.
Do the same for another petri dish and place 4 sterile disks on it
(ampicillin, ampicillin and orange juice, ampicillin and cranberry
juice, ampicillin and grapefruit juice).
Procedure (continued)
 Pipette
1ml of E. coli on another petri dish and place 3
sterile disks on it (water, ampicillin and pomegranate
juice, ampicillin and sterile distilled water).
 Seal and label the petri dishes accordingly and place
in an incubator.
 Repeat steps 6-7 for 2 additional trials.
 Allow the petri dishes to stay in the incubator for 48
hours then remove and observe.
 Record the zone of inhibitions from one side to the other
for each sterile disk (mm) and make observations.
Variables
Independent: Fruit juice used (Cranberry,
Pomegranate, Grapefruit, Orange)
 Dependent: Zone of inhibition
 Control: Sterile water, ampicillin

Data
The Average Effects of Fruit Juices+Ampicllin on E. coli
30
Zone of Inhibition (mm)
25
20
15
10
5
0
AMPICILLIN
-5
ORANGE +
AMPICILLIN
CRANBERRY +
AMPICILLIN
POMEGRANATE +
AMPICILLIN
GRAPEFRUIT +
AMPICILLIN
STERILE WATER +
AMPICILLIN
Data
The Average Effects of Ampicillin, Orange Juice, and Ampicillin +
Orange Juice on E. coli
30
Zone of Inhibition (mm)
25
20
15
10
5
0
Ampicillin
Orange Juice
Orange Juice + Ampicillin
Data
The Average Effects of Ampicillin, Cranberry Juice, and Ampicillin +
Cranberry Juice on E. coli
30
Zone of Inhibition (mm)
25
20
15
10
5
0
Ampicillin
Cranberry Juice
Cranberry Juice + Ampicillin
Data
The Average Effects Of Fruit Juice, Water, and Ampicillin on E. coli
30
Zone of Inhibition (mm)
25
20
15
10
5
0
ORANGE
CRANBERRY POMEGRANATE GRAPEFRUIT STERILE WATER
AMPICILLIN
Conclusion



Fruit juices and sterile water do affect both the
growth of E. coli and the ampicillin
No statistical difference between the groups of
data collected
No fruit juice can be determined as the most
effective or harmful in aiding the ampicillin
Limitations



One petri dish had to be discounted-inconsistency in
the data for each of the pomegranate, grapefruit,
and sterile water mixtures with ampicillin
Possibility that the petri dishes were not coated
evenly
Various incubation times
References
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