In a world of growing antibiotic resistance, PM1 students sought to find natural alternatives to combat this encroaching healthcare crisis. They asked ambitious questions: What if your post-workout treat could an infection beat? What about an herbalist’s laxative, or pre-laxative green-leafed snack?

Guided by Dr. Kuei-Chiu Chen and as part of the premedical biology coursework, students carried out the project testing acai fruit extract, senna leaves, and cress seeds on S. marcescens and C. amylocolatum. These extracts have already been tested against S. aureus and E. coli, and to increase the possible scope of usage of these extracts, they were tested on the additional bacteria mentioned above. Furthermore, both senna leaves and cress seeds hold cultural significance as natural remedies in Arabian culture. Both antimicrobial agents target the cell membrane and the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) structures of the membrane. The results were significant: senna leaves showed the largest inhibition zones against both bacteria. In the S. marcescens plate, the growth of the bacterium was only limited by cress seeds. In contrast, for C. amycolatum, the development was inhibited by both the açaí fruit extract and senna leaves.

The students’ ambitious questions made for an ambitious project that made for the learning of ambitious skills. The students learnt how to conduct expansive literature searches to find credible information about the microbial agents at hand. Then, they learnt how to precisely carry out a study, with very careful measurements to ensure accuracy and reliability. Moreover, the poster assignment was paramount in imparting scientific writing skills - invaluable to aspiring physician-scientists - and the poster presentation mimicked a research forum, which further pushed the students to develop their presentation skills.

The future potentials for investigation in this project area include the use of these extracts to treat arising infections, as new substitutes for our dwindling arsenal of antibiotics.