| | Category | CH | P02 | To Eat or Not To Eat? Detecting Free Radical and Antioxidant Levels |
| | in Foods |
| | Abstract | Purpose: The purpose of this experiment is to determine whether the type |
| | of food and the method of preparation of food are factors that vary the |
| | food’s levels of free radical emission, or the food’s antioxidant properties. |
| | |
| | Hypothesis: Foods that are grilled will have higher levels of free radicals |
| | than foods that are baked, boiled, or microwaved, and foods that have |
| | more complex chemical compositions will have higher levels of free |
| | radicals than foods with simpler chemical compositions. Foods that are |
| | unprocessed and that have simpler chemical compositions will have |
| | greater antioxidant properties. |
| | |
| | Procedure: 1) Prepare samples of one type of food (i.e. potatoes) |
| | prepared four different ways- baked, boiled, microwaved, and grilled. |
| | 2) Put samples in capillary tubes and put tubes into the Magnetic |
| | Resonance Spectrometer (machine using magnetic fields to excite |
| | electrons, causing free radicals, which are unpaired electrons, to emit |
| | signals that a computer records). |
| | 3) Run tests on Spectrometer to determine amount of free radicals, as well |
| | as type of free radical emission (more homogeneous or heterogeneous), |
| | from the samples. Also run comparative tests to determine the Lorentzian |
| | and Gaussian line widths of the free radical emission in each sample, |
| | comparing these values in each sample. |
| | 4) Put samples in capillary tubes with stable free radical and put tubes in |
| | Spectrometer to observe antioxidant properties (which will be based on |
| | the diminuation of the free radical signal that the stable free radical sample |
| | is emitting). |
| | 4) Repeat this procedure with foods from all the major food groups- |
| | grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy, meat, and oils. |
| | 2) Carbonize one sample of each type of food to determine differences in |
| | chemical structure between samples. |
| | |
| | Data Analysis: According to the results of the tests run on the |
| | Spectrometer, it will be determined which type of food and method of |
| | preparation will have the greatest levels of free radical emission. The initial |
| | tests will record the emissions the samples give off when they are |
| | excited in a magnetic field, and using Baseline Correction and Lineshape |
| | Simulation programs will produce graphs of free radical emission from |
| | each sample that can be easily compared to each other. These tests will |
| | also be used to determine the antioxidant properties of the samples. |
| | Carbonizing samples will enhance these graphs so that they convey an |
| | idea of the simplicity or complexity of the chemical composition of the |
| | various samples. |
| | |
| | Conclusions from this analysis will determine recommendations for the |
| | optimal mode of food preparation, as well as the best types of foods to |
| | consume, in terms of free radical absence and antioxidant levels. |