Catechol oxidase is an interesting compound to work with, because of this chemical fruits and vegetables turn brown when dropped or cut. I will know how catechol oxidase performs under different pH levels using a spectrophotometer to record its absorbance. This will give the information to determine if more or less product is being made. After performing the test and understanding the results I will compare the difference between absorbance, and if any problems occurred during the process.
Introduction
Have you walked into a grocery store and noticed that some fruits and vegetables have brown spots on them, they no longer look fresh? For example, when you buy bananas and cut them at home and walk away and ten minutes later they have started to turn brown on the edges. The name for that reaction is catechol oxidase, which is made into the pigment called benzoquinone.
In this experiment I will investigate catechol oxidase. The enzyme is a catalyst which makes some chemical reactions occur faster than if no enzyme was present. I will test how well catechol oxidase will function under different conditions, what happens in different pH and the absorbance of each. Catechol oxidase needs copper in order to active, during the process of oxidation electrons and hydrogens are eliminated from catechol. Like stated above the compound …show more content…
There are small amounts of catechol found in fruits and plants. Catechol is found with the enzyme polyphenol oxidase know as catechol oxidase. When the enzyme and substrates are mixed and exposed to oxygen, catechol being colorless oxidizes and turns into a dark red or brown color. These colors come from melanoid pigments which is from benzoquinone. In order to know if the enzyme is active and product is being formed i will use a spectrophotometer to test absorbance. Catechol oxidase has a optimal pH of 7, testing it in different pH will tell us if absorbance is high or