The Effects of Monosaccharides, Disaccharides, and Polysaccharides on the Carbon Dioxide Output of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Abstract

Yeast is a fungus that goes through fermentation. For this study, we are looking at which type of sugar will be most efficient in CO₂ production in relation to fermentation. The polysaccharide, starch, will produce the most CO₂, because it has more sugar molecules bonded together, so it will provide more nutrients for the yeast to grow in comparison to the monosaccharide, dextrose, and disaccharide, sucrose, conditions. To test this hypothesis, solutions for each condition – starch, dextrose, and sucrose - were made with a 5% concentration of each sugar and tested by measuring their carbon dioxide output after 10 minutes of being on a stir plate. The starch did not have the highest CO₂ output rate; rather, dextrose did. Sucrose has a small growth rate when compared to dextrose. This could be explained due to the excess energy needed to breakdown the more complex sugars rather than the simple monosaccharide. In a future study, one could test different monosaccharides alone to see which the optimal monosaccharide is.