preview

Nacl Affects on Enzymatic Reaction Essay

Good Essays

The Effects that 1%, 4%, and 16% Sodium Chloride (NaCl) Concentration Had on the Rate of Reaction of Catecholase Enzymes in a Potato (Solanum tuberosum).

Abstract
Enzymes are a key component of a cell. They make chemical reactions happen faster because they lower the activation energy to make the chemical reaction occur. Most of the time, it is best if enzymes produce as efficiently as possible, but in some cases it is better if they do not, when dealing with potatoes (Solanum tuberosum). If the catecholase enzyme of the potato is hindered, it is less likely to brown when it is cooked. To see how efficient sodium chloride is at slowing down these enzymes, the experiment measured the rate of reaction when the enzymes were exposed …show more content…

There are three factors that will alter an enzyme: temperature, pH and salt. All three will change the structure of the enzyme by denaturation and rendering it useless when a drastic change occurs from levels that are normal. A slight alteration can speed up reaction to certain saturation or slow the process of reaction. Enzymes have a substrate: the substrate for the catecholase enzyme is catechol and oxygen. When the substrate combines with the catecholase enzyme of a potato, the product is a reddish brown color called benzoquinone. This product is what turns fruits and vegetables brown (Briggs and others 2010). Therefore, slowing or stopping the process of would increase shelf life of some food, or at least make the foods appearance appetizing much longer. The equation for this chemical reaction is:

Enzyme Substrate Product Catechol + Oxygen Catecholase --------------------- Benzoquinone The hindering of the Benzoquinone could alter the production, and could lower the cost of produce. Nathalie Santis and others (2005) preformed an experiment to see the effects of various NaCl solutions on thin slices of potato that were fried. The potatoes were sliced 3mm thick and 30mm in diameter, fourteen slices in all. All fourteen were blanched at 70°C for five minutes. Seven were placed in pure water at 26°C and the other seven went into several NaCl solutions (0.6%, 1.2%, 1.8%, 2.4%, 3.0%, 6.0% and

Get Access