A Study on the Antibacterial Properties of Lemon Infused Bentonite

Abstract

Bentonite, a natural product of volcanic eruption from Earth, is starting to be commercially available because of its promising property as a highly absorbent property. On the other hand, natural lemon extract has been known for its antibacterial properties due to the presence of vitamin C and flavonoids. In this study, bentonite powder was immersed in natural lemon extract. The powder was then air-dried and applied with heat treatment to quicken the drying of the powder samples. The powder samples were pelletized prior to antibacterial testing. The antibacterial activity of the lemon extract infused bentonite samples was determined through Agar disk diffusion test by measuring the clearing zone against the two types of bacteria: Escherichia coli and Stapylococcusaureus. The pellet samples inhibited the growth of Escherichia coli and Stapylococcusaureus. The lemon infused bentonite sample showed a greater antimicrobial index against Staphylococcus aureus than Escherichia coli.