Pineapple Enzyme Lab
Background:
Pineapple’s lush, tropical sweetness is reason enough to enjoy it any way you can, but this fruit
also contains vitamin C and manganese. This fruit’s most promising nutritional asset, though,
may be bromelain, a natural enzyme found in both the fruit and the stem. In the health world,
bromelain is regarded as useful in reducing muscle and tissue inflammation, as well as acting as
a digestive aid. In the cooking world, on the other hand, bromelain is regarded as the enemy of
gelatin dessert because it digests the proteins found in gelatin.
Most of the pineapple consumed in the United States is canned (in the form of juice as well as
fruit), but fresh pineapple is much more flavorful, and, despite its tough bristly shell, is easy to
prepare.
The fruit probably first grew wild in parts of South America and then spread to the Caribbean,
where Columbus encountered it. By 1600, early European explorers had carried pineapples as
far as China and the Philippines. In the 18th century, pineapples were taken to the Hawaiian
Islands, eventually becoming the major fruit crop. Hawaiian pineapple producers were the first
to can the fruit.
Pineapple Enzyme Lab
Background:
Pineapple’s lush, tropical sweetness is reason enough to enjoy it any way you can, but this fruit
also contains vitamin C and manganese. This fruit’s most promising nutritional asset, though,
may be bromelain, a natural enzyme found in both the fruit and the stem. In the health world,
bromelain is regarded as useful in reducing muscle and tissue inflammation, as well as acting as
a digestive aid. In the cooking world, on the other hand, bromelain is regarded as the enemy of
gelatin dessert because it digests the proteins found in gelatin.
Most of the pineapple consumed in the United States is canned (in the form of juice as well as
fruit), but fresh pineapple is much more flavorful, and, despite its tough bristly shell, is easy to
prepare.
The fruit probably first grew wild in parts of South America and then spread to the Caribbean,
where Columbus encountered it. By 1600, early European explorers had carried pineapples as
far as China and the Philippines. In the 18th century, pineapples were taken to the Hawaiian
Islands, eventually becoming the major fruit crop. Hawaiian pineapple producers were the first
to can the fruit.
Name _________________________________________________Date_______Per____
Enzyme Pre-Lab
Directions: Read the background material provided to you. Using this material, your notes, and text,
answer the following questions.
1. (a) Describe what happens when a protein denatures (breaks down). _____________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
(b) Is the denatured protein still able to function? ____________________________________________
2. (a) What is the name of the enzyme we are using in this lab? ___________________________________
(b) What fruit is it found in? ____________________________________________________________
3. (a) What is the protein we are using in this lab? _____________________________________________
(b) For this lab, what is our food source for the protein? ______________________________________
4. Make a hypothesis regarding which of the four cups (plain Jell-O, Jell-O with fresh pineapple, Jell-O
with canned pineapple, Jell-O with frozen pineapple) will be solid and which will be liquid when you
examine your results on Day 2.
What form of pineapple contains enzymes that digest protein?
Procedure:
1. Number and label the cups as indicated in #2 and write your class period on each cup.
2. Place a chunk of the designated pineapple into each test cup.
o Cup 1: Water only
o Cup 2: Fresh pineapple
o Cup 3: Canned pineapple
o Cup 4: Concentrated pineapple (thawed)
3. Add enough gelatin mixture to each cup to cover the pineapple chunk. Place your samples aside.
4. On Day 2, check the contents of each cup for solidification of the contents and record your observations.
Enzyme Lab 1 Data Sheet
Cup
Juice
1
Plain Jell-O
2
Fresh Pineapple chunk
3
Canned Pineapple chunk
4
Frozen Pineapple chunk
State of test tube contents on Day 2
Analysis
1. By definition, what is an enzyme?
2. What is the name of the enzyme we used in this lab, and what fruit is the enzyme found in?
3. Why did cup #1 contain only water? What type of experimental group is this called?
4. What could account for the different results in the cups? If all the chunks come from a pineapple, then
why do some liquefy (breakdown) the gelatin and why don’t others?
5. Large polymer proteins in this lab were broken down into smaller monomers called
___________________.
6. Of the four macromolecule categories we studied, which do enzymes fall into?