Core practicalWhy do they put mint in toothpaste? Would garlic be better?)

Hypothesis:-

The hypothesis given is that garlic will have higher antibacterial properties than mint.

Method

Apparatus:-

• Agar plate seeded with bacteria
• Plant material(garlic  cloves and mint leaves)
• Pestle and mortar
• 10 cm3 industrial methylated spirits
• pipette(sterile)
• paper discs
• sterile Petri dish
• sterile forceps
• tape
• marker pen
• incubator set at 25oC

Procedure:-

• Cleaned the table with antibacterial spray.
• Labelled the Petri dishes for garlic, mint and water (control).
• Place agar plate in to a Petri dish and leave it for 5 minutes to allow it to thicken and add bacteria.
• Add methanol to both garlic and mint.
• Crush the garlic and mint separately
• Placed  disc one in water, one in garlic and one in mint and tap the dish
• Repeated the above steps for two more Petri dishes and add different bacteria to each dish.
• Place the plates in to an incubator and leave for 24 hours at 25oC.

Safety issues:-

• Methanol is toxic and flammable keep away from skin and sprit burner.
• Wear lab coat, goggle to prevent bacteria getting on skin and clothes.
• Do not open Petri dishes containing growing micro organisms they can spread out.
• Do not throw the plates in the bin as they contain harmful bacteria they will need to be autoclaved

Results:-

The result proven the given hypothesises that garlic has a higher antibacterial properties than mint. It is for reason that no bacteria spread over the garlic in any Petri dishes but there was bacteria over the mint and water. Water was used as a control substance although bacteria can affect it.

Discussion

Conclusion:-

The hypothesis was proven the garlic had higher antibacterial properties than mint. That is why may be it would be better to use garlic in toothpaste because it would stand a better chance to killing bacteria in the mouth and on toothbrush. mint was used in tooth paste because it provides freshness and the effect of mint is not toxic but garlic has a toxic effect.

Evaluation:-

It was found that garlic has more antibacterial properties than mint and control substance as water. no bacteria found in garlic and it has a toxic effect than mint and water. As mint is not antibacterial we can use Triclosatic in toothpaste by not using mint as it can not kill the bacteria  and garlic as it has toxic chemical and do not provide freshness.

Summary:-

The result appeared to be accurate and proven the given hypothesis. As plants are susceptible to infection by bacteria and fungi. as garlic has higher  antibacterial property than water(control)and mint. And it can kill the bacteria as it has toxic effect and do not provide freshness to the mouth that’s why they put mint in toothpaste.

Reference:-

     

           Salter –Nuffield Advanced Biology, Activity 4.7.

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