Sweetness Lab

     This lab was done to find the relationship of a carbohydrates structure to its sweetness. According to results from the experiment, monosaccharides are the sweetest, and polysaccharides are not sweet, however, they are bland or slightly bitter. In our experiment, we found that fructose was the sweetest along with sucrose and glucose, and according to the information collected in step 2, these are all monosaccharides. In addition, cellulose and starch were the most bitter and least sweet, and according to the information collected, they are polysaccharides. Galactose, maltose, and lactose, which are disaccharides, were all towards the middle of the sweetness scale, which further supports the claim that monosaccharides are sweet and polysaccharides aren't, as disaccharides are in the middle.

     A carbohydrate's structure may affect how it interacts with other molecules in the body such as lipids and nucleic acids. The monosaccharides, which are the smaller carbohydrates, may interact on the smaller scale, such as with cells, and serve smaller functions. The larger polysaccharides, may serve larger functions, like storing energy.

    The testers within my group did not give all the samples the same ratings. This could possibly due to a difference in the way our taste buds work. If someone is used to tasting really sweet things, then they may not thing a sample is very sweet, while someone else could think its very sweet. Also, if one person tasted the sample for longer than another, they may have a different experience tasting the sample.

     According to PubMed Health the tongue contains many taste buds and taste papillae, which help perceive the dominant tastes of sweet, sour, bitter, and salty. The article states that on average, adults have about 2,000 to 4,000 taste buds. Our perception of the sweetness of the different sugars could have been due to a different amount of taste buds on our tongues. The 4 dominant tastes have can be tasted most strongly on different areas of the tongue. The location where we tasted the sample on our tongue could have also affected the way we tasted the sugar.