Bacillus subtilis

A gram positive bacterium, B. subtilis survives the heat of cooking. It can cause symptoms of food poisoning in the stomach and intestines (cramps, nausea and vomiting, and/or diarrhea) as well as: ^(v.18, 80)

• Eye infections (e.g., pink eye).
• Infections in wounds.
• In people with weakened immune systems, B. subtilis can cause systemic infection and meningitis. It is also found in the urine of patients with urinary tract infections.

Curcumin compounds from turmeric strongly block a structural protein that bacteria need to divide and multiply. It does so by increasing activity of the enzyme that breaks down that protein. Curcumin's stimulation of this enzyme's activity is also lethal to B. subtilis. ^(v.66)

Lab tests show turmeric oil (containing mostly turmerones and curlone) is active against B. subtilis bacteria. ^(v.5, 71)

Researchers used turmeric extract to make an antioxidant, antimicrobial liquid soap for cleaning wounds in patients with HIV. The turmeric extract contained 0.5% curcumin and helped inhibit B. subtilis. The soap also reduced itchiness by 100% and healed wounds within 2 weeks. ^(v.25)

Research (mostly lab studies) show that other individual compounds in turmeric also have antibacterial effects against B. subtilis. These include:

• 1,8-CINEOLE ^{(v.67, v.73)}
• α-PINENE (in later studies) ^{(v.67, 78, 81)}
• α-TERPINEOL ^(v.75, 81)
• AR-TURMERONE ^(v.5, 72)
• β-PINENE (in later studies) ^{(v.67, 78, 81-82)}
• BORNEOL ^{(v.74-75, 81)}
• CAFFEIC ACID ^(v.75, 83)
• CAMPHOR ^{(v.67, 74-75)}
• CURLONE ^{(v.5, 73-74)}
• EUGENOL ^(v.75, 81)
• GERANIOL ^{(v.76-77, 81)}
• LIMONENE (in some studies) ^{(v.67, 75, 81)}
• MYRICETIN ^(v.84-85)
• QUERCETIN ^(v.83-84)

Some of these performed better than the antibiotic streptomycin in the disc-diffusion type of test (i.e., 1,8-cineole and camphor). The pinenes both showed inhibition zones about 80% that of streptomycin. However, limonene was only 60% as effective as the antibiotic drug. ^(v.67)