Abstract

Background: Acne vulgaris is a skin condition that occurs when  hair follicles become clogged with oil and dead skin cells. Acne commonly affects adolescents when they are undergoing rapid physiological, social and physical changes. Blue light in the wavelength of 400-700nm is best absorbed by porphyrins within the sebaceous glands. Curcumin is the active ingredient of turmeric and has antimicrobial and antioxidant properties via the PPAR gamma pathway. Objective: The experiment was designed to study the effects of blue light therapy and turmeric on acne bacteria cultured from a teenager’s facial acne. The relative bacterial growth was studied over time. Method: Acne bacteria were swabbed and cultured in 4 different groups and incubated using blue light, white light and turmeric. Photographic evaluation was done every 6 hours and digitally graphed. Results: Growth curves were calculated using chi squared tests using a p-value of 0.01.The data suggested that a combination of turmeric and blue light reduced bacterial growth is roughly 133 times less likely to have occurred for turmeric alone and roughly eight times less likely to have occurred for blue light alone. Conclusion: Both blue light therapy and turmeric individually decreased the bacterial growth.The combination of blue light and turmeric showed a significant decrease in bacterial growth and was an effective therapy for the eradication of P acnes bacteria. The combination of blue light therapy and turmeric can be used towards a cheap and effective treatment for a common dermatological  problem that affects teenagers globally.