Green Chemistry: Can Sunflower Leaves Reduce Bacterial Growth?

Grade:

5

Teacher:

Susan Herman

The purpose of this project was to find out if sunflower leaves can reduce bacterial growth using green chemistry. Green chemistry means using natural materials that are safer for people and the environment. We chose sunflower leaves because we planted them in our school garden and their leaves have natural chemicals that can stop bacteria from growing. To test this, we made a sunflower leaf extract and used it in a bacteria experiment. We compared bacteria that had sunflower leaf extract to bacteria that did not have any treatment. The bacteria with no treatment were the control. Everything else in the experiment stayed the same. I observed the bacterial growth and recorded my results. The results showed that the bacteria with sunflower leaf extract grew less on some surfaces, but not on every surface. This means sunflower leaves may help reduce bacterial growth. This project shows how plants can be used in green chemistry. In the future, I would like to test other plant leaves to see if they work the same way.

Project presentation