Beetroot Lab Report

Beetroot tissues will be the model investigated in this lab. Specifically the effects of temperature stress on the beetroots cellular membrane. Beetroot is known as Beta Vulgaris, it is one of the healthiest vegetables one can eat with plenty of minerals and vitamins. One of the main vitamins in beetroot is betaine which serve as organic osmolytes that are synthesized or taken from the surroundings by the cells to protect against osmotic stress, high temperature or, drought. Roots of beet also contain a high amount of betacyanin that is located almost entirely in the large central vacuoles that are surrounded by a vacuolar membrane called tonoplast. The entire cell membrane of beetroot is encased by a cell membrane and a cell wall. When the beet cells are subjected to a range of temperatures if stress is caused upon the membrane then damages will follow in which betacyanin will release through the tonoplast and plasma membrane. This leakage will produce a red color in the water the beet is submerged in, thus as the intensity of colour in the water increases a colorimeter can measure the absorbency of the solution which is the damage done to the beet …show more content…
The bond between the amino acid is held together by hydrogen bonds and a disulphide bridge. However, when a high temperature is applied, the hydrogen bonds weaken and the SS- bond also known as the disulphide bridge is a particular type of covalent bond that’s boiling point is awfully low, therefore when exposed to high temperatures the bond is easily disrupted. When looking at the data it is evident that the vacuoles were damaged and leaked out into the cell membrane causing the pigment betacyanin to leak out and diffuse out of the cell into the water solution. The diffusion can be supported by the concentration gradient law in which a substance will move from a place with high concentration to lower