A Quebec community college student has received a $4,000 award for finding a spicy solution to harmful E. coli bacteria — cinnamon.
David Drouin will receive his award at 32nd annual Ernest C. Manning Innovation Awards Gala in Calgary on Oct. 16.
Drouin was one of five recipients of the Young Canadian division of the Manning awards, which recognize Canadians who have demonstrated innovative talent in developing and successfully marketing a new concept, process or procedure. Drouin says his research demonstrated that weak concentrations of cinnamaldehyde, a major constituent of the essential oil in cinnamon, makes E. coli vulnerable to probiotic bacteria, and weakens it considerably.
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“This discovery could eventually permit treatment of infections, without contributing to antibiotic resistance,” Drouin says in an abstract of his research. The 2013 winners, from British Columbia, Ontario and Nova Scotia, share $145,000 in prizes. The 2013 Young Canadian Award winners from Ontario and Quebec share $16,000 in prizes.
Other winners included a social innovation from Halifax; a device for hearing aid that reduces loud and sharp sounds; a safety device to keep wheel nuts attached and “heads-up display” technology being added to ski/snowboard goggles and athletic sunglasses.
