Booth Id:
BMED027
Category:
Biomedical and Health Sciences
Year:
2017
Finalist Names:
Penick, Jeremiah (School: Brookville High School)
Abstract:
What are the effects of pineapple juice on blood clots?
When I first started this project I had an idea to test the effects of certain blood thinners on blood clots. I was going to soak the blood clots in Plavix and Aspirin solutions then record the effect of each one. After doing some research I decided that neither medication would have any effect on the blood clot since each medication is only used to prevent further clotting. After much research I decided to test the effects of pineapple juice on blood clots due to the fact that it contains a natural enzyme called Bromelain. To ensure that it was indeed the fact that Bromelain was dissolving the blood clots, I tested the effects of cooked pineapple juice on blood clots. I tested cooked pineapple juice because when pineapple juice is cooked it removes the Bromelain. My results prove that pineapple juice, or more specifically Bromelain, is capable of dissolving blood clots. Bromelain is able to dissolve the clots because of its fibrinolytic properties.