Research Summary

Dr. Chopin's lab investigates the efficacy of herbal remedies used in folk medicine, especially curanderismo. In the first stage of the project, ethanol extracts of the plant are screened for antibacterial properties against common pathogenic bacteria using the Kirby Bauer disk diffusion susceptibility method. Extracts that show significant antibacterial properties undergo serial fractionation by high performance liquid chromatography until the active component can be isolated and identified.