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Cinnamon Oil
Moderators: AmyCowen, kgudger, MadelineB, Moderators
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maria25
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Fri Sep 26, 2014 8:35 am
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- Project Question: Can cinnamon oil eliminate oral bacteria?
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Cinnamon Oil
Hello, I'm working on science fair project that involves working with cinnamon oil and bacteria. I would like to know if cinnamon oil is harmful and if so what is the right amount to use?
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deleted-224136
- Former Expert
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Re: Cinnamon Oil
Hello,
Are looking to see if cinnamon oil is harmful to bacteria in your experiment or are you asking if cinnamon oil is a safety concern for those doing the experiment? Cinnamon oil is a natural product for the most part so won't be harmful to handle in an experiment, but I would avoid eating it because, like most things, too much of it can be bad.
A helpful website for learning about the safety of compounds, structure, purpose, common protocols, etc. is Sigma Aldrich. It's a company used by colleges, industries, and other cooperations, but they also have a lot of helpful information.
Are looking to see if cinnamon oil is harmful to bacteria in your experiment or are you asking if cinnamon oil is a safety concern for those doing the experiment? Cinnamon oil is a natural product for the most part so won't be harmful to handle in an experiment, but I would avoid eating it because, like most things, too much of it can be bad.
A helpful website for learning about the safety of compounds, structure, purpose, common protocols, etc. is Sigma Aldrich. It's a company used by colleges, industries, and other cooperations, but they also have a lot of helpful information.
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deleted-132180
- Former Expert
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- Project Question: I am volunteering for the "Ask an Expert" program.
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Re: Cinnamon Oil
Hello there,
I have similar questions as the previous expert had brought up: By harmful, are you asking whether cinnamon oil is harmful to work with, or if it's known whether cinnamon oil can kill bacteria? I agree that Sigma Aldrich is a great place to look for information on how to safely work with cinnamon oil. However, if your question concerns whether cinnamon oil is harmful for bacteria, I think there have been some studies that suggest that cinnamon oil has antimicrobial properties. I would suggest doing some research on these studies to see what concentrations they used to treat the bacteria so you have an idea of the range you can test. Keep in mind though that the effective antimicrobial concentration of cinnamon oil could differ between different bacteria, so if you're using a different type of bacterium compared to the ones in the study, the optimal concentrations to use may be different. Hence, I wouldn't just test one concentration of cinnamon oil on the bacteria. In fact, I would test a wide range--it would be interesting to see at what dose will the antibacterial activity be ineffective (for example, for many antimicrobial compounds, if the concentration you use is too low, then you wouldn't be able to kill bacteria with them), and at which dose the cinnamon oil will begin killing bacteria.
Let us know if you have any other questions about your procedures and/or as you do the experiments!
Connie
I have similar questions as the previous expert had brought up: By harmful, are you asking whether cinnamon oil is harmful to work with, or if it's known whether cinnamon oil can kill bacteria? I agree that Sigma Aldrich is a great place to look for information on how to safely work with cinnamon oil. However, if your question concerns whether cinnamon oil is harmful for bacteria, I think there have been some studies that suggest that cinnamon oil has antimicrobial properties. I would suggest doing some research on these studies to see what concentrations they used to treat the bacteria so you have an idea of the range you can test. Keep in mind though that the effective antimicrobial concentration of cinnamon oil could differ between different bacteria, so if you're using a different type of bacterium compared to the ones in the study, the optimal concentrations to use may be different. Hence, I wouldn't just test one concentration of cinnamon oil on the bacteria. In fact, I would test a wide range--it would be interesting to see at what dose will the antibacterial activity be ineffective (for example, for many antimicrobial compounds, if the concentration you use is too low, then you wouldn't be able to kill bacteria with them), and at which dose the cinnamon oil will begin killing bacteria.
Let us know if you have any other questions about your procedures and/or as you do the experiments!
Connie