The Effects Of Temperature On Membrane Integrity in Beet Roots
Purpose:
Beet roots were treated with water of different temperatures in order to determine the effects of various temperatures on the tonoplast, and plasma membrane of a beet root. Beet root pieces were treated with various temperatures, and the amount of betacyanin released was measured using a spectrophotometer. Betacyanin is an antioxidant, and therefore knowing how to preserve the betacyanin within beet cells has many practical applications in healthcare, and nutrition.
Procedure:
5mm long beet disks were cut, and rinsed before being treated with a different temperature (-5°C, 4°C, 40°C, 50°C, 70°C), and placed into a test tube with distilled water. (Biology 107…show more content… (2002). When studying the effects of temperature on the hairy beet root, they found that an increase in temperature played a direct role in the amount of pigment (betacyanins and betaxanthins) that was released from the plant. As the temperature increased, the release of pigment increased proportionally.
Recommendations: The pigments found in beets can be useful in many fields, including human nutrition. The betalains found in beets are antioxidants, which can prevent illness related to oxidative stress. (Kenner et al. 2001). Therefore, in order to maximize the dietary benefits, beets should not be heated past a temperature of 50°C.
The effect of temperature on cell membranes provides many opportunities for study, for example, the study of how heat affects the membrane of a bacteria could prove extremely useful in areas such as food management. This experiment could be improved by measuring the temperature at more frequent intervals, in order to determine the beets range of tolerance, or by using beet disks of exactly the same size and mass, in order to limit variables. One source of error in this experiment was the test tube used to calibrate the spectrophotometer during the temperature stress portion of the lab. The tube had multiple scratches, resulting in an inaccurate calibration. Due to this error, the control sample had a negative value for its