by Madison Peck

Since January, Scott and Stephanie Kall have been working on a  science fair project with their advisor Julie Snyder to determine if tea tree oil can stop yeast infection, particularly the “Candida albicans” yeast.  They presented their project at the state science fair on May 2 and 3.

They used a process of yeast streaking, yeast inoculation and yeast swabbing on filter disks soaked in tea tree oil as their test, and  as a positive control they used Nystain, which is a prescription used to fight yeast infections.They also used as a negative control sterile water and dry disks. This provided clear results, and they could tell what the effects were.

“We measured the zones of inhibition around the filter disks, which are just circles around the disks where the yeast didn’t grow. We gathered our results through observation and statistically, and we found that tea tree oil is indeed effective in inhibiting the growth of the yeast.”

“I had seen tea tree oil used in a lot of places and was curious to see why.  I asked them to look into it, and they found it to be antifungal,” Snyder said. Scott and Stephanie looked up what type of fungus tea tree oil will react to, and they found out it is active against Candida albicans, the fungus that causes yeast infections. They tested three types of tea tree oil on this species of fungi, and they found it to be active.

 In addition to Snyder’s reasons for this project, Scott and Stephanie also wanted a “real, hands-on science experience.” They “thought testing a new possible treatment for an infection using a common household item sounded really cool.”

Believe it or not Scott and Stephanie liked working on the project together. For most people working on a project with their sibling would be a nightmare, but for the Kalls it was enjoyable. “We work really well together, and we bounce ideas off each other with ease and our ideas flow easily,” Scott said. Although at first it was nerve-racking, it all worked out perfectly.