Project 10:

Aim: To compare the rate of fermentation of the following substances.

(a) Wheat flour (b) Gram flour (c) Potato juice (d) Carrot juice (e) Orange juice (f) Apple juice.

Theory: Wheat, rice, maize, gram, etc., contain large percentage of starch. Starch is a very big molecule and is a polymer of glucose. It is broken down in the human system into glucose and maltose and finally to carbon dioxide with the liberation of energy. This process is called fermentation. Fruits juices contain glucose which is converted to CO2 by fermentation. Fermentation is defined as the process in which big organic molecule are converted into very small molecules through the action of certain types of enzymes. Enzymes are complex organic compounds and are very sensitive to the reaction conditions such as temperature, pH, concentration of salts; mechanical shocks etc. Enzymes, in all fermentation processes are added in the form of some living ferment material. Thus yeast is a living material, bacteria (ferment) and it produces the enzymes diastase and zymase required for the formation of sugar and alcohol. If different sources having the same substances are taken for fermentation, the concentration of the said substances would be different in different substances and hence the rate of fermentation would also be different. The rate of fermentation is studied by testing for the presence of the starting material at the end of the experiment, or collecting one of the products of fermentation. The reactions involved are (C6H10O5)n + nH2O aC5H12O6 Material required: Apparatus:

2 conical flasks, funnels, filter paper, boiling tubes, test tubes, stand, beaker, water bath. Chemicals: 2 gm. wheat flour, 2 gm, gram flour or 2 gm. Potato (crushed), wheat fermentation mixture- Pasteurs salt (obtained by mixing equal amounts of potassium phosphate, calcium phosphate, magnesium sulphate, and ammonium tartarate. This salt is the nutrient for the following cells of the ferment), 5 % KOH solution.

Precautions: 1. In no case temperature of the fermentation flask should be increased beyond 40C. 2. When the percentages of alcohol formed exceeds 15% it kills the activity of the enzyme in zymase. So the process stops. Hence more yeast can be added after intervals. 3. The fermentation with yeast is quite slow. In case no significant change is observed either in the concentration of source or the product, yeast may be increased or the time for CO2 absorption may be increased. Procedure:

Preparation of starch solution from the different sources: Add 2 gm of wheat flour and Potato (crushed) each into two different clean conical flasks 5 ml. Distilled water is added to each flask and boiled for 2-3 minutes. Solutions are filtered into separate conical flasks and labeled.

Study of the rate of fermentation: A paste of two grams of yeast in 10 ml of distilled water (or fermentation mixture) and 5 ml Pasteur salt solution (saturated) is then added. 10ml.of 5% aqueous KOH solution is then taken in a boiling tube and is accurately weighed (w1gm). The whole apparatus is then set up and left as such for half an hour. The tube containing KOH solution is taken off and again weighed accurately (W2gm)

and the change in weight is found out (W2-W1 gm). The whole expt. is then repeated taking the other solution or it could be conducted side by side. The change in weight of KOH solution is noted in each case. In this way the rate of fermentation can be compared.

Observation: (i) (ii) (iii) What changes do you observe in the conical flask on adding the fermentation mixture or yeast? After half an hour take out a few drops of starch solution from the conical flask. Add Iodine solution and note the colour shade produced. In case of fruit juices take one ml. of each of the solution in the beginning and at the end of the experiment and test with Fehlings solution. Write your observation. (iv) Take one ml. of the solution from the fermented starch and test as above.

Recording:

Sl. No.

Source

Initial weight of the KOH flask (w1gm)

Final weight of the KOH flask (W2gm)

Weight gm

of

CO2

liberated-w2-w1

1. 2.

Wheat flour

Result: The rates of fermentation of the given substances containing starch are in the order - - etc

Note:

Rate of fermentation of sugars in apple juice, orange juice, etc. also could be done in the same way and compared.