Lab Report Food Enzymes

[di27]

Hi

Okay, so in Biology we're doing our final IA and it's meant to be on food enzymes. I've researched a lot on different enzymes and I've come up with 2 that I could possibly research but I'm not sure how. I'm really confused.

I found Papain, which is an enzyme found in Papaya which breaks down proteins in the stomach and another one is Pectinase, which is usually found in fruits (specifically Apples) but I don't understand how I'm going to test them and on what?

Help please?

[Drake Glau]

So this can be any enzyme related to food? or enzymes found IN food? Either way you'll need to find a supply of whatever enzyme and then test it on different substrates I guess. Enzyme-Substrate specificity is a big deal in the ways of the shape and size and orientation of the substrate in accordance to the active site of the enzyme so maybe you can research some different molecules that have the same size/shape. Or simply just test one enzyme with a few different substrates and maybe be able to conclude if a few of them are the same size/shape

[Sandwich]

A very easy one to do (and common) would be Catalase and Milk. It's extra-popular because you can very easily measure the break-down of the milk (on account of it being visible/easy to test for). Look it up

If you use a rare enzyme you have to remember your teacher might not be able to get hold of it/you might not be able to get hold of it!

Usually you test various aspects of enzyme function -- anything which affects the rate at which the enzyme works. A common one is varying temperature, or you can vary concentration of the substrate, concentration of the enzyme etc.

[Mahuta ♥]

If the teacher didn't specify what kind of enzymes you can and can't use, why don't you just use one of the commonly known enzymes? They're much easier to work with and the results are easier to process because you know the enzymes pretty well.

You have:

Amylase on starch or bread if you want.

Protease ( or Pepsin if you want to be more specific) on egg.

Lipase on butter or any fat substance.

Simply, do the test of the initial substance before using the enzyme and then after using it. If you are testing speed, then you are going to test for the final product every x seconds.

What are you exactly investigating? Speed of reaction in general? Effect of pH? Effect of temperature? There are so many things you can do with simple enzymes, remember..this is an IA, not EE and you want to get the highest mark you can get on your IA so that it wont bring your mark down. Do something easy to do, simple and easily gives you marks. (Hopefully)

I recommend you use enzymes found in the digestive system, because then you will have a lot to talk about in the intro/hypothesis and C/E.

Unless your teacher asked you to search for enzymes like Papain..in that case:

You can test any factor that affects enzyme activity, and you are going to use them on the substance they digest. So for papain papaya, pectinase on apples..etc..etc