Abstract
Microbial biofilms are an increasing threat to human health as they provide protection from both antibiotics and the immune system; therefore, some labs are turning their attention to discovering compounds that can disrupt their formation or break apart established biofilms. Zingerone, a compound found in ginger, has been shown to disrupt biofouling in several Gram-positive and Gram-negative species. To determine if zingerone may be a candidate for general usage, the way in which it disrupts biofouling should be elucidated. Recent results suggest that one of the ways zingerone impacts biofilm formation is by disrupting quorum sensing. Yet many quorum sensing systems exist and it is still unclear which of these are affected by zingerone. This study aims to determine if zingerone disrupts the biofouling of bacteria that use AHL, DSF, and Agr quorum sensing signaling systems. Minimum inhibitory concentration assays were used to determine the maximum concentration of zingerone that the bacteria tolerate, and then biofilm assays were used to determine whether zingerone affected biofilm formation. While this study did not see a statistically significant decrease in biofilm formation in the presence of zingerone, visible differences between the control and treatment wells of Agrobacterium tumefaciens in the qualitative results suggest that technical error may have diminished any statistical significance in the quantitative data.