SWISS GERMAN

UNIVERSITY
CELL BIOLOGY LABORATORY REPORT
Subject : Biology Laboratory
Lecturer : Dr.rer.nat. Maruli Pandjaitan
Instructor : Elisabeth K. Prabawati STP., M.FoodSt.
Faculty : BIT/BMT/BLS
Date of
Experiment : 18 October 2010
Date of Lab.
Report : 21 October 2010
Semester :1
Time of
Experiment : 14.00 – 17.00

Experiment: Fermentation

PARTICIPANTS : 1. Geoffrey Benawar

2. Ida Kusuma
3. Indri Kartika Sari
4. Jesslin Rani

Swiss German University Tel. +62 21 3045

Bumi Serpong Damai 0045 +62 21 537
Edu Town – BSD City 6221
Island of Java - Indonesia Fax. +62 21 3045
0001 +62 21 537
6201

sgu.info@sgu.
ac.id

www.sgu.ac.id
I. Objective

The objective of this experiment is to examine about the end product of

fermentation of sugar by living yeast cell.

II. Introduction
Generally, fermentation is an anaerobic metabolism. The fermentation uses
pyruvate that was produced by glycolysis process to regenerate NAD+, the essential
cofactor for glycolysis. There are two types of fermentation. The ethyl alcohol
fermentation that occur in yeast and lactate fermentation that occurs in human
muscle. The end product of fermentation is NAD+. In yeast, pyruvate accepts electron
from NADH and modified it to ethanol and carbon dioxide.

In this experiment, the main point is the alcohol fermentation from yeast such as
Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Ethanol fermentation, also referred to as alcoholic
fermentation, is a biological process in which sugars such as glucose, fructose, and
sucrose are converted into cellular energy and thereby produces ethanol and carbon
dioxide as metabolic waste products. Because yeasts perform this process in the
absence of oxygen, ethanol fermentation is classified as anaerobic. Ethanol
fermentation occurs in the production of alcoholic beverages and ethanol fuel, and in
the rising of bread dough.

The chemical equation below summarizes the fermentation of glucose, whose

chemical formula is C6H12O6. One mole of glucose is converted into two moles of
ethanol and two moles of carbon dioxide:
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 C6H12O6 → 2C2H5OH + 2CO2
C2H5OH is the chemical formula for ethanol.

III. Equipment Set Used

- Test tube
- Beaker glass
- Pipette
- Graduated pipette
- Distilled water
- Glucose
- Sucrose
- Starch
- Yeast

IV. Experiment’s procedure

1. 15 mL of the following solutions were put in four appropriately sized test tube
with a graduated pipette.
Tube Content
Distilled water (15
1
mL)
2 Glucose (15 mL)
3 Sucrose (15 mL)
4 Starch (15mL)
2. Each test tube was added 3 mL of yeast solution.
3. The filled test tubes were put into beaker.
4. The test tube was turned upside down toward the beaker.
5. The length of air space inside the test tube was recorded every 15 minutes.

V. Experiment’s data

Interval of Length of air

Net Increase in
Test Tube Time space at start
Air Space (cm)
(minute) (cm)
0
Tube 1
15
(15 mL Distilled
30
Water + 3 mL
45
Yeast)
60
0
Tube 2 15
(15 mL Glucose + 30
3 mL Yeast) 45
60
0
Tube 3 15
(15 mL Sucrose + 30
3 mL Yeast) 45
60
0
Tube 4 15
(15 mL Starch + 30
3 mL Yeast) 45
60
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VI. Discussion

In test tube 1 that contains distilled water and yeast solution, no air space
increases because there is no reaction between distilled water and yeast. Yeast
modifies pyruvate into ethanol and carbon dioxide. Test tube 1 does not contain any
pyruvate, therefore the reaction does not occur nor form any products. One of the
products of fermentation is carbon dioxide in gas that makes the length of air space
increases. As we know that appearance of gas will reduce the volume of the solution.
Length of air space increases because volume of solution decreases. No CO2 is
formed, it means that no increasing length of air space obtained, which is why causes
no increasing length of air space in test tube 1.

In test tube 2 that contains glucose and yeast solution, the length of the air space
is the biggest of all other test tubes, which is 0.8 cm. This is because glucose will be
broken down into cytosol of yeast cells through glycolysis produces ATP and pyruvate
molecules. Yeast cells are facultative aerobic; they can use oxygen if it is present to
metabolize sugar to carbon dioxide and water. However, if no oxygen is available,
yeast cells metabolize pyruvate into ethanol and carbon dioxide.

In this tube, fermentation without oxygen forms CO2 that can be detected by
observing the increase in the air space length. Glucose is a monosaccharide that
cannot be decomposed into smaller one. This makes yeast cell easier to do
fermentation.

In test tube 3 that contains sucrose and yeast solution, the length of air space is
0.3 cm.

Sucrose
Sucrose is a disaccharide that consists of two monosaccharaides, those are
glucose and fructose. It can be hydrolyzed by water forming both. Glucose that is
formed by hydrolysis of sucrose will be broken through glycolysis in cytosol of yeast
cell producing pyruvate and ATP. In no oxygen condition, fermentation occurs,
producing CO2 and ethanol. The reaction is the same as that in test tube 2. The
difference is in the molecule. Sucrose that has to be hydrolyzed first into glucose and
fructose takes more time to completely finish through long chain of process that
produce the end product of fermentation than glucose itself. That’s why in a given
amount of time, glucose is faster to react with and produce CO2 than sucrose. It is
proved by the length of airspace in test tube 2 and test tube 3.

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 In test tube 4 that contains starch and yeast solution, the increasing of the length
of air space almost does not occur at the given time. The reaction is slower than
glucose and sucrose. There is only a 0.1 increase in the length of air space.

Starch is much larger than sucrose. Starch is a polysaccharide that is a mixture of

two different polymers, those are amylose and amylopectin. It is not easy to hydrolyze
starch into its smallest component (glucose). It is also proved by the length of the air
space, which is smaller than those in test tube 2 and test tube 3.

VII. Conclusion

Fermentation is an anaerobic phase of metabolism. It means that this will happen

when there is no oxygen included. There are two types of fermentation, which are
alcohol fermentation and lactates fermentation. Alcohol fermentation occurs in yeast
and the end products are ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide. The lactates fermentation
occurs in muscle and the end product is lactic acid.
The most effective substance for fermentation is glucose compared to sucrose,
water, and starch. Glucose is a monosaccharide which can be involved in glycolysis
process and produces pyruvate.

VIII. References
•http://www-3.unipv.it/webbio/anatcomp/freitas/2008-2009/biocell_BT08-09.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol_fermentation
•http://www.studentsguide.in/microbiology/microbial-photosynthesis/ethanolic-
alcoholic-fermentation.html
• http://www.biojoe.org/skinny/biochemistry.html
• http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=152401

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