We found that the ethanol solvent was not necessarily killing but stopping the growth of the bacteria. This was because in our experiment we set up 96 well plates and measured the absorbance in the difference wells (high absorbance = growth, low absorbance = no growth of bacteria). In our experiments we found that the wells with the relevant ethanol concentrations showed low absorbance, which should not be happening as it is the negative control.
Based on your knowledge of benzaldehyde and bitter almond oil, do you think that the compound could be safe enough to prevent killing human cells? Why or why not?
The benzaldehyde concentrations we tested were at concentrations that would have been biologically relevant with the highest dose being 10% so it would have been safe to take. Additionally, benzaldehyde can be found in many foods such as almonds where they naturally occur. So people normally already consume low doses of benzaldehyde.
Nicole! The specific mechanism by which benzaldehyde is able to kill the cells is not well understood but it is known that it is acutely toxic to cells. At certain concentrations benzaldehyde has shown to cause DNA damage in cells targeted. This is important because in our lab we are looking to find compounds that show promise as future antibiotics, which means we are looking for compounds that kill cells. Antibiotics work by a few different mechanisms: inhibition of cell wall synthesis, inhibition of protein synthesis, inhibition of nucleic acid synthesis, and damage of the cell wall. We want to find something that is able to kill bacteria and hopefully acts by a different mechanism to combat bacteria that are resistant. Benzaldehyde works by inflicting DNA damage so the way that it kills cells gives hope that it could present as an antibiotic with a new mechanism.
How did you know the solvent ethanol for benzaldehyde contribute to killing of bacteria itself as you mentioned in the future direction?
We found that the ethanol solvent was not necessarily killing but stopping the growth of the bacteria. This was because in our experiment we set up 96 well plates and measured the absorbance in the difference wells (high absorbance = growth, low absorbance = no growth of bacteria). In our experiments we found that the wells with the relevant ethanol concentrations showed low absorbance, which should not be happening as it is the negative control.
How did you know the solvent ethanol for benzaldehyde contribute to killing of bacteria itself as you mentioned in the future direction section?
Based on your knowledge of benzaldehyde and bitter almond oil, do you think that the compound could be safe enough to prevent killing human cells? Why or why not?
The benzaldehyde concentrations we tested were at concentrations that would have been biologically relevant with the highest dose being 10% so it would have been safe to take. Additionally, benzaldehyde can be found in many foods such as almonds where they naturally occur. So people normally already consume low doses of benzaldehyde.
How does benzaldehyde kill the cells and why is this important?
Nicole! The specific mechanism by which benzaldehyde is able to kill the cells is not well understood but it is known that it is acutely toxic to cells. At certain concentrations benzaldehyde has shown to cause DNA damage in cells targeted. This is important because in our lab we are looking to find compounds that show promise as future antibiotics, which means we are looking for compounds that kill cells. Antibiotics work by a few different mechanisms: inhibition of cell wall synthesis, inhibition of protein synthesis, inhibition of nucleic acid synthesis, and damage of the cell wall. We want to find something that is able to kill bacteria and hopefully acts by a different mechanism to combat bacteria that are resistant. Benzaldehyde works by inflicting DNA damage so the way that it kills cells gives hope that it could present as an antibiotic with a new mechanism.