The Effects of Common Foods on Bacteria

Results
The results of the experiment appeared at first glance to be valid; there were no glaring flaws. All of the plates displayed even growth of their respective bacterial lawns. Zones of inhibition appeared around some of the disks but not around all of them. One potential source of error, however, could stem from the fact that there was mild to moderate contamination by fungus in all of the plates.
The results coincided with what was expected. The control group had no inhibition of bacterial growth surrounding the disks. Garlic was the most effective and green tea the least. Honey fell in between the two. See figure 1 for a visual analysis of the results. Clear zones of inhibition formed proving garlic's antibiotic qualities against both types of bacteria. It was most effective on E. Coli. There was an eleven-millimeter zone of inhibition surrounding the garlic filled disk. E. Coli is therefore extremely susceptible to garlic. A categorization of "susceptible" implies that an infection due to the organism tested may be expected to respond to the dosage of antimicrobial agent recommended for that type of infection and infecting species (Garrity 22). The zone of inhibition of garlic in the Bacillus was less impressive, but it was effective nonetheless. It measured six millimeters. …