KANHAN VALLEY SCHOOL,

DUNGARIA

DISTT. CHHINDWARA (M.P.)

(AFFILIATED TO CENTRAL BOARD OF SECONDARY EDUCATION)

Chemistry Investigatory Project

(Session 2024-2025)

Topic – Comparative study of the rate of Fermentation of

Various Food Materials

Submitted to - Submitted by -

Ms. Savita Sharma ma’am Shweta Somkuwar

KVS Dungaria 12th (PCB)

Date:- 10th Jan 2025 Roll No. :- 19618209

 INDEX
 Certificate
 Acknowledgement
 Introduction
 Aim
 Material required
 Theory
 Procedure
 Observation
 Result
 Precautions
 Bibliography
 CERTIFICATE

This is certifying that the Chemistry project

entitled “Comparative study of the rate of
fermentation of various food materials” has
been completed by Shweta Somkuwar of class
12th ‘Biology’ Kanhan Valley School Dungaria,
in the partial fulfillment by Central Board of
Secondary Education (CBSE) leading to the
award of the annual examination of the year
2024-25.

Teacher’s Signature
Principal’s Signature

External’s Signature
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
As a student of class 12th, I did this project as a
part of studies entitled “Comparative study of the
rate of fermentation of various food materials” I
owe a deep sense of gratitude to my chemistry
teacher Ms. Savita Sharma mam whose valuable
advice, guidance helped me in doing this project
from conception to completion. At the same time, I
can't forget to express my gratitude to our
principal Mr. Akhilendra Singh Sir for extending
support, patronage and constant encouragement.
Finally I'm thankful to my parents for helping me
financially, economically and my friends for being a
helping hand at every step of this project.
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE RATE
OF FERMENTATION OF VARIOUS
FOOD MATERIALS
INTRODUCTION

Fermentation is the slow decomposition of complex

organic compounds into simpler compounds by action of
enzymes. Enzymes are complex organic compounds,
generally proteins. There are many examples of
fermentation process which we come across in daily life,
soaring of milk and curd, bread making brewing.
Fermentation word has been derived from Latin, ferver
which means “to boil”, as during fermentation there is lot
of frothing of the liquid due to the evolution of carbon
dioxide (CO2), it gives the appearance as if it is boiling. It
is also defined as a metabolic process that produces
chemical changes in organic substrates through the
action of the enzymes.

In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction

of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen
(O2).

In the context of food production, it may more broadly

refer to any process in which the activity of
microorganisms brings about a desirable change to a
food stuff or beverage.

The science of fermentation is known as zymology.

In microorganisms, fermentation is the primary means of

producing ATP by the degradation of organic nutrients
anaerobically.
Along with photosynthesis and aerobic respiration,
fermentation is a way of extracting energy from
molecules but it is the only one common to all bacteria
and eukaryotes. It is therefore considered the oldest
metabolic pathway, suitable for an environment that does
not have oxygen. Yeast, a form of fungus, occurs in
almost any environment capable of supporting microbes,
from the skin of fruits to the guts of insects and mammals
and the Deep Ocean and harvest sugar rich materials to
produce ethanol (C2H5OH) and carbon dioxide (CO2).
The basic mechanism for fermentation remains present in
all cells of higher organisms. Mammalians muscle carries
out the fermentation that occurs during the time interval
of intense exercise where oxygen supply becomes
limited, resulting in the creation of lactic acid (C3H6O3).
Fermentative bacteria play an essential role in the
production of methane (CH4) in habitats ranging from the
rumens of cattle to sewage the digesters and fresh water
sediments. They produce hydrogen (H), carbon dioxide
(CO2), formate (HCOO-) and acetate and carboxylic acids
(R-COOH), and then consortia of microbes convert the
carbon dioxide and acetate to methane. Acetogenic
bacteria oxidize the acids, obtaining more acetates and
either hydrogen or formate. Finally, methanogens convert
acetate to methane.
Humans have used fermentation to produce food stuffs
and beverages long ago. For example, fermentation is
used for preservation in a process that produces lactic
acids found in such sour foods as well as for producing
alcoholic beverages such as wine beer.
Fermentation occurs within the gastrointestinal tracts of all
animals including humans.
The use of Fermentation, particularly for beverages, has existed
since the Neolithic age and has been documented dating from
7000-6600 BCE in Jiahu, China, 5000 BCE in India, Ayurveda
mentions medicated wines, 6000 BCE in Georgia, 3150 BCE in
ancient Egypt.
Fermented foods have religious significance in Judaism and
Christianity. The Baltic god Rugutis was worshipped as the agent
of fermentation.
In 1837, a group of famous scientists independently published
paper concluding as a result of microscopic investigation that
yeast, a living organism that reproduces by budding. They also
concluded that no fermentation would occur until new yeast was
added, by boiling grape juice to kill the yeast.
However a lot of chemists continued to view fermentation as a
simple chemical reaction and rejected the notion that living
organism could involve. This was seen as a reversion to vitalism
and was lampooned in an anonymous publication.
Louis Pasteur in 1860 demonstrated that fermentation is a
purely physiological process carried out by living microorganisms
like yeast. In 1857 Pasteur showed that lactic acid fermentation is
caused by living organisms. In 1860, he demonstrated that
bacteria caused souring in milk, a process formerly thought to be
merely a chemical change, and his work in identifying the role of
microorganism in food spoilage led to the process of
pasteurization. In 1877, working to improve the French brewing
industry. Pasteur published his famous paper on fermentation,
which was translated into English in 1879 as “Studies on
fermentation”.
He defined fermentation (incorrectly) as “life without air”, but
correctly showed that specific types of microorganism cause
specific types of fermentation and specific end products.
Although showing fermentation to be the result of the action of
living microorganism was a breakthrough, it did not explain the
basic nature of the fermentation process, or prove that it is
caused by the microorganisms that appear to be always present.
Many scientists, including Pasteur had unsuccessfully attempted
to extract the fermentation enzyme from yeast,
Advances in microbiology and fermentation technology have
continued steadily up until the present. For example, in the
1930’s, it was discovered that microorganisms could be mutated
with physical and chemical treatments to be higher yielding,
faster growing tolerant of less oxygen, and able to use a more
concentrated medium. Strain selection and hybridization
developed as well, affecting most modern food fermentation.
This view was abandoned in 1897 when Buchner demonstrated
that yeast extract could bring about alcoholic fermentation in
the absence of any yeast is due to active catalyst of biochemical
origin. This biochemical catalyst are called enzyme. Enzymes are
highly specific. A given enzyme acts on a specific compound or a
closely related group of compounds.
Sugars like glucose and sucrose when fermented in the present of
yeast cells are converted to ethyl alcohol.
Sucrose is first converted to glucose and fructose with an enzyme
Invertase. Enzyme Zymase converts glucose and fructose to
ethanol.
 Invertase
C12H22O11 + H2O ---------------------> C6H12O6 + C6H12O6
Glucose
Fructose

Synapse
C6H12O6 -----------------> 2C2H5OH + 2CO2
Glucose or fructose ethyl alcohol

During fermentation of starch, starch is first hydrolyzed to

maltose by the action of enzyme diastase. The enzyme diastase is
obtained from germinated barley seeds. Maltose is converted to
glucose by enzyme of maltase. Glucose is converted to ethanol by
another enzyme Zymase.

Diastase
2(C6H5O10) n + n H2O ------------------> n C12H22O11
Starch Maltose
Maltase
C12H22O11 + H2O ------------------> 2 C6H12O6
Maltose Glucose
Zymase

C6H12O6 -------------------> 2 C2H5OH + 2CO2

Glucose Ethyl alcohol

Enzymes Maltose and Zymase are obtained from yeast.

 AIM
To compare the rates of fermentation of the
following fruit or vegetable juices i) Apple juice
ii) Orange juice iii) Carrot juice
 MATERIAL REQUIRED
 Wheat Flour
 Gram Flour
 Potato juice
 Carrot juice
 Conical flask
 Corks
 Delivery tubes
 Baker’s yeast
 KOH
 Distilled water
 Pasteur salt
 Glass
 Rod
 THEORY
The fruit and vegetable juices contain sugars such as sucrose,
glucose and fructose. These sugars on fermentation in the
presence of the enzymes Invertase and Zymase give ethanol with
the evolution of carbon dioxide.

Invertase

C12H22O11 + H2O ---------------------> C6H12O6 + C6H12O6

Glucose
Fructose

Glucose and fructose are reducing sugars and give red colored
precipitates with Fehling’s solution when warmed. When the
fermentation is completed, the reaction mixture stops giving any
red color or precipitate with Fehling solution.

Wheat flour, gram flour, rice and potatoes contain starch as a

major constituent. Starch present in these food materials is
brought into solution. In the presence of enzyme diastase starch
undergoes fermentation to give maltose.
Diastase

2(C6H10O5) n + n H2O ---------------------> n C12H22O11

Starch Maltose

Starch gives blue-violet color with iodine, whereas products of

fermentation of starch to not give any characteristic color. When
the fermentation is complete the reaction mixture stops giving
blue-violet color with iodine solution. By comparing the time
required for completion of equal amounts of different substances
containing starch, their rates of fermentation can be comparing.
The enzyme distaste is obtained by germination of moist barley
seeds in dark at 15℃ . When the germination is complete, the
temperature is raised to ℃ to further growth. These seeds are
crushed in water and filtered. The filtrate contains enzyme
diastase and is called malt extract...
 PROCEDURE
1) 5ml of apple juice was taken in a clean 250ml conical flask
and diluted with 50ml of distilled water.
2) 2gram of Baker’s yeast and 5ml of solution of Pasteur’s salt
were added to the above conical flask.
3) The contents of the flask were shaken well and the
temperature of the reaction mixture was maintained 35-40 ℃
.
4) After 10minutes 5 drops of the reaction mixture were taken
from the flask and added to a test tube containing Fehling
reagent. The test tube was placed in a boiling water bath for
about 2 minutes. The color of the solution or precipitate was
the denoted.
5) Step 4 was repeated after every 10 minutes until the
reaction mixture stopped giving any red color or precipitate.
6) This time taken, i.e., time taken for the completion of
fermentation was noted.
7) All the above steps were repeated by taking 5ml each of
grape juice, black juice, sweet lime juice, orange juice and
carrot juice.
 OBSERVATION
Volume of fruit juice taken = 5.0 ml
Volume of distilled water added = 50.0 ml
Weight of baker’s yeast added = 2.0g
Volume of solution of Pasteur’s salts = 5.0 ml
 RESULT

o The highest rate of fermentation was found in

carrot juice.

PRECAUTIONS
o Do not over heat the samples as it will stop
fermentation process.
o Do not disturb the flasks during fermentation
process.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
o Chemistry Lab Manual
o Wikipedia
o www.icbse.com