STUDENT GUIDE
ACTIVITY #10: Investigation Enzyme Action with
Beano
A peek into the world of flatulence
Enzymes are proteins which lower the activation energy needed to make
chemical reactions occur. You may have studied enzymes in the past, and
hopefully you remember that enzymes are very specific – only certain enzymes
catalyze certain reactions. For example, the enzyme in saliva needed to break
down starches into smaller units of the sugar “maltose” is salivary amylase. The
enzyme needed to catalyze the breakdown of proteins in the stomach is known
as pepsin. The enzyme lipase is secreted by the pancreas into the small
intestines to catalyze the breakdown of lipids or fats into fatty acids.
You may have also previously studied factors that affect the enzyme catalase by
using yeast as a model organism. In this activity, you will investigate the effects
of a commercial enzyme called Beano on the breakdown of sugar.


Is Beano effective?
How do digestive enzymes work?
GOALS: In this lab activity, you will…
 Determine how digestive enzymes work.
 Determine what factors might affect an enzymecatalyzed reaction.
 Determine whether an enzyme dietary supplement
like Beano is effective in aiding the human
digestion of carbohydrates.
MAIN IDEAS: The important concepts and skills covered in this activity are…
 Nearly all metabolic reactions involve enzymes.
 Enzymes are protein catalysts that greatly speed up chemical reactions by
lowering the activation energy required to make reactions proceed within
the narrow range of temperatures in which living organisms function.
 There are many different types of enzymes. Each catalyzes only one or a
few specific reactions. Enzyme specificity is due to the structure of the
enzyme’s active site which must match the shape of the substrate
molecule it acts upon. The interaction of the active site with the substrate
lowers activation energy.
 The rate of enzyme activity is affected by temperature, pH and enzyme
concentration.
 In enzyme reactions, as in all chemical reactions, matter and energy are
conserved.
ACTIVITY OVERVIEW: A synopsis of this lesson is as follows:
This activity is designed to allow the student to observe how digestive
enzymes act on macromolecules, specifically complex carbohydrates. While
there are other natural digestive enzymes like pancreatin, amylase and
pepsin, this activity focuses on commercially produced carbohydrate
decomposing enzymes, specifically an enzyme created by the researchers
at Lactaid, Inc. called Beano. The breakdown of certain complex sugars
by bacteria in the large intestine naturally results in the creation of gas as a
byproduct. There are some foods that result in more gas production than
others, and this activity explores whether Beano works to eliminate, or
dramatically reduce, the amount of gas normally produced. Students will be
able to observe the breakdown of complex carbohydrates into simple
carbohydrates, by measuring the amount of glucose present in a bean
solution at timed intervals.
CONNECTIONS
Scientific Content –
 Chemical transformations allow a conversion of energy from one form to
another, the breakdown of molecules into smaller units, and the building of
larger molecules from smaller ones.
 Most of these transformations are made possible by protein catalysts called
enzymes.
 Enzymes are protein catalysts that greatly speed up chemical reactions by
lowering the activation energy required to make reactions proceed within
the narrow range of temperatures in which living organisms function.
 There are many different types of enzymes. Each catalyzes only one or a few
specific reactions.
 The rate of enzyme activity is affected by temperature, pH and enzyme
concentration.
 In enzyme reactions, as in all chemical reactions, matter and energy are
conserved.
Scientific Process –
 There is quantitative data collected in this activity.
 Students are asked in Part B to design their own experiments as an
extension of Part A, identify the components of their experiments (variables,
control, constants) and to analyze the data from their experiments.
Math/Graphing –
 There is graphing associated with Part A and Part B. Students will
appropriately graph their data on graphs provided.
Think about it:
Imagine that you have just gone to a party, have had lots of raw veggies
as appetizers (broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, peppers), then sat down for
a meal that included a LARGE bowl of chili (with lots of beans). You
finally get to meet that special someone (who you
have had your eye on for quite some time) at the
party. You two really hit it off with one another,
and offer to give them a lift home – they accept.
As you are driving them home, you get that
uncomfortable pressure in your abdominal area.
You realize that you need to (gasp) “pass gas”. This is
because bacteria in your large intestine contain an enzyme that breaks
down this roughage, and some of the end products include lots of gases.
Luckily, there are products on the market that limit gas production. Unfortunately,
you have not taken any! If you had, the enzyme in the commercial products
would have broken down the carbohydrates in your small intestine, and the
gases would not have been produced. This enzyme has been produced for
public use through the application of biotechnology on modern fermentation
procedures. The commercial product known Beano contains the enzyme galactosidase, which breaks down small chain sugars into simple sugars in the
small intestine – so the bacteria don’t have to get to work in the large intestine,
and no gases are produced!
Let’s Investigate Part A:
Procedure Part A:
1. Obtain and label two test tubes – test tube 1 will have the
bean mixture + Beano; test tube 2 will just contain the
bean mixture (your control).
2. Add 4 mL of the bean solution to each test tube. Make an
initial glucose concentration reading from each test tube by
adding a drop of solution to two separate test strips. Make
sure you use a different dropper pipette for each test tube. The test strips
will turn various colors depending on the amount of glucose present.
Record your information in Table 1 in the 0 minutes row by comparing the
colors on the strip to the following color scheme:
aqua
mg/dL
0
sea green
100
green
250
tan
500
brown
1000
dark brown
2000
3. Add 2 mL of the Beano solution to test tube 1, and 2 mL of water to test
tube 2. Mix each test tube with the respective dropper pipettes you used
previously. Wait two minutes then test for glucose concentration using
new test strips. Record results in Table 1.
4. Test glucose concentration for both test tubes at minutes 4 and 6 using the
previous procedure. Record results in Table 1.
Time in
minutes
0
2
4
6
Table 1
Presence of Glucose
Test Tube 1 (Beano)
mg/dL
Test Tube 2 (Control)
mg/dL
5. Graph your results below. Make sure you use the appropriate type of
graph and that you have selected and labeled your axes appropriately.
Investigation Reflection for Part A:
1. What was the purpose of the control test tube?
2. Why did you take glucose readings of each tube before adding Beano to
test tube 1?
3. Describe what happened in each test tube, and explain the reasons for your
results.
4. Explain how to calculate the rate of the reactions in the test tubes. Then
calculate the rates and place them in Table 2.
Table 2
Rate of Reaction
Test Tube
1
2
Rate (mg/dL/min)
5. What might be some factors that would affect the rate of reaction?
Let’s Investigate Part B:
Procedure Part B:
You have now measured the rate of enzyme activity of Beano It is now time to
try your hand at designing your own experiment to answer a question you pose
about the process of enzyme catalyzed carbohydrate digestion reactions. You
should select a variable to investigate that you think might influence this rate.
1. Ask a Question
What question might you ask about the rate of
enzyme catalyzed digestion reactions that could be answered in an
experiment that uses the glucose test strips?
2. Background Information What background information leads you to
believe that the variable you have identified in your question will affect the
rate of enzyme catalysis?
3. Hypothesis Write a hypothesis that will be useful in guiding your
investigation. Remember, a hypothesis is a tentative solution to your
question. It states the results you expect to get when you conduct the
experiment.
4. Design Your Experiment Tell what steps you will follow in conducting
your experiment. Include a drawing of your apparatus. Be sure to
describe your control.
5. Variables What is your independent variable?
What is your dependent variable?
What are your constants?
6. Data
Draw a data table for recording your data.
7. Graph
Draw your results on the graph below.
8. Analysis and Conclusions Do your data support or refute your
hypothesis? Explain your answer with evidence from your data and
observations.
9. Possible Errors It is possible that you made errors in your experimental
design, in setting up your equipment, or in collecting and recording data.
Please discuss these errors and explain how you would conduct the
experiment if you had to do it over again.
10. Other Questions The answers obtained from an experiment often lead
scientists to ask additional questions about the topic they are studying.
State at least one question about enzyme catalyzed reactions that arises
from your experiment that you would like to investigate if you had the
chance.
Investigating Further…
Beano is not the only commercially produced digestive enzyme found in
stores, although it is the most popular enzyme taken by people to relieve gas.
Research another commercially produced digestive enzyme and find out how
it works and what research was involved that
resulted in its development.
Summary of Activity…
You have been asked by the Federal Drug Administration to write a
report on the effectiveness of Beano reducing sugars. Write a report that
includes the following:
 How digestive enzymes work.
 How Beano works.
 Whether or not Beano is effective in reducing sugars with data
driven evidence to support your claim.
Applying what you have learned…
So far, for every molecule that life forms can put together, such as cellulose or
chitin, there are bacteria that can digest them into sugar and other smaller
molecules. What would happen if a tree or insect could build a complex molecule
that NO organism or natural process could digest?