B.J. Pierson
Bromelain and its Reactions to Jell-O
Before I get carried away with the experiment, what is Bromelain? What exactly does it do? Bromelain is a digestive enzyme found in pineapple juice. It is used to clot milk and break up protein. It has the ability to have many uses in the medical field today and research is still going on to see what other uses can be found. It has the ability to be used as a pain reliever and to help reduce swelling and inflammation. It is fast becoming popular among many athletes.
In our experiment, we put a piece of pineapple in a test tube with Jell-O. We used four different test tubes for this to get a proper evaluation. In each test tube, we had a different situation. In test tube number one, fresh pineapple and we left it at room temperature. The result of this was that it digested most of the Jell-O. In the second test tube, we placed some cooked pineapple into it and also left it at room temperature. These two mixed well and solidified. In the third test tube, we placed some fresh pineapple into a tube like before, but this time we refrigerated it. This greatly prohibited the mixing of the two and kept it from digesting the Jell-O as fast. In the fourth tube, we added a piece of pineapple to the tube only this time, it was cooked. We then placed this tube in the refrigerator also. It was completely solidified when we looked at again.
Another thing we noticed was that there was a mold forming at the top of the test tubes that were left at room temperature. We concluded that from the evidence we have gathered Bromelain is slowed by refrigeration. We also concluded that this is a major reason why people put other fruits in their Jell-O and not pineapples. You could easily make Jell-O one day and put pineapples in it, and the next time you look at it, it could be gone! Our major conclusions were that by cooking the Bromelain, it was denatured and lost its function. We concluded that raw Bromelain works best in the digestion phase. Since it was slowed by refrigeration, we also added that it must be most effective at room temperature.
Links cited for this page
http://www.nutrimart.com/Bulk/Description/bromelain_page.htm