The Effect of Dextrose, Sucrose, and Starch on CO2 Production of Saccharomyces Cerevisiae

Abstract

Baker’s yeast, or saccharomyces cerevisiae, is a vital organism in numerous industrial processes, such as the biofuel and food and beverage industry, that uses sugars to ferment to create energy needed for growth. Our goal was to study the effects of various sugars on the growth of yeast by measuring its CO2 production. We hypothesized that the monosaccharide would produce the most CO2 rather than the disaccharide or polysaccharide. In our experiment, we tested three different sugars (dextrose, sucrose, and starch) effect on yeast by creating a mixture of the sugar with water, Baker’s yeast, and sodium phosphate, then placing the mixture in a biochamber, and measuring the CO2 production with a probe. The data showed that dextrose (monosaccharide) produced the most CO2 compared to sucrose (disaccharide) and starch (polysaccharide). Our findings conclude the significant role monosaccharides play in yeast respiratory metabolism.