Summary We are going to talk about catechol. We will also talk about the acids and bases and how it works on the catechol reaction. In addition, the discussion will analyze the results.

Introduction An anti-fungus known as Catechol, is a substance found in vegetables and fruits. When exposed to oxygen, it turns that particular area of the fruit brown. Our research project was how HCl and NaOH concentrations effect the activity of catechol in a potato extract. To approach this, we measured catechol activity at different concentrations with a spectrophotometer. We hypothesized that if HCl will inhibit catechol activity and NaOH will increase catechol activity, then acids will show lower reading on the spectrophotometer than those of the bases.

Problem Solving We attempted to decrease the catechol activity in order to keep the potato fresh. By doing so, we tested the potato extract with HCl and NaOH, and we measured the activity with the spectrophotometer. We hypothesized that if HCl will inhibit catechol activity and NaOH will increase catechol activity, then acids will show lower reading on the spectrophotometer than those of the bases.

Materials / Methods Diluted acid and base to correct the desired molarity. Made potato extract 100g peeled in 300 mL in distilled water. Made catechol 1% weight/volume [1g/100mL]. Mix solutions with chemical accuracy to Table 1. Waited five minutes. Tested with spectrophotometer at 440nm.

Materials / Methods CatecholExtractWater (acid/base) #1X1mL4mL #21mLX4mL #31mL 3mL Table 1

Results Tests results show that our hypothesis was wrong. Activity with acid is lower than base. Base concentration did not affect catechol activity. Acid concentration did not affect catechol activity. No activity at 0.4M HCI.

Discussion / Conclusion Our goal is to find a way to keep fruits/vegetables fresh after it has been damaged. We hypothesized that if acids decrease the activity of the catechol, then the base should increase the activity of the catechol as the concentration rises. The concentration of HCI or NaOH didn’t affect activity. The activity might have been affected by the pH level.

Significance If we were to keep our fruits/vegetables in an anaerobic environment they should be able to stay fresh for a longer period of time. From our results, acids such as citric acid should decrease the activity.

Acknowledgements Classmates Mrs. Potter Mr. Thor UOP for spectrophotometer