Science Fair Overview

Essential oils are mainly used for medicinal purposes and can be applied topically, ingested, an/or inhaled. There are many benefits to using these oils, such as relieving stress, reducing or eliminating microbes, among other healing properties. Proper use of essential oils is paramount, as carelessness can lead to unexpected or even harmful side effects. The common belief held among essential oil users is that in order to obtain the best medicinal results, the quality of the oils (synthetic versus organic plant-based) impacts the effectiveness of the product. For this reason, I have chosen to conduct an experiment that will compare the antimicrobial effectiveness of synthetic versus organic natural plant-based essential oils.

The antimicrobial properties of essential oils have already been studied, so we know that there are many oils that effectively kill bacteria. However, this is not the primary focus of my project. I’m looking to determine whether the quality of the oils change the antimicrobial effectiveness. Since synthetic oils cost a lot less, knowing that they are equally as effective can make the use of essential oils more accessible to populations who may not be able to afford the more expensive natural and organic oils.

There are many differences between synthetic and quality organic oils. Natural essential oils are derived from plant parts such as leaves, bark, and rinds that are made into concentrated oils. Synthetic means a replication of a real and natural product, a duplicate. Natural essential oils are not artificial, they are not made from any unnatural substances. Synthetic oils are designed to replicate natural oils and are able to accomplish this in smell, but do they replicate in antimicrobial effectiveness?

I have chosen three oils: peppermint, clove, and lavender. Each of these have previously been researched and studied to prove their ability to kill microbes. I hypothesize that the natural organic oils will have a greater antimicrobial effectiveness than the synthetic oils. My project will test this hypothesis by contaminating seven agar dishes, letting microbes grow, and then placing drops of each type and quality of essential oil in each dish. I expect that keeping oil as close to how God originally made them will have the best results. I can’t wait to see if this is true or not!