Honey as a Biomolecule
Name _________________________
Part 1: Introduction
Inordertostayhealthy,peopleneedtoeatavarietyofnutritiousfoods.Foodcontainssixnutrients
thatarenecessaryforgoodhealth.Thesenutrientsincludecarbohydrates,proteins,lipids,
minerals,vitamins,andwater.
Carbohydrates,lipids,andproteinsarecalledorganicmolecules.Thesemoleculesarecalledorganic
moleculesbecausetheyarecarbonbasedandshouldnotbeconfusedwithcertifiedorganic
products.TheUSDAdefinesorganicagricultureasusingmethodsthatpreservetheenvironment
andavoidmostsyntheticmaterialaspesticidesandantibiotics.
Readeachstatementandchecktheappropriateboxindicatingifyouthinkthatthestatementis
trueorfalse.
True
False Statement
Ateaspoonofhoneyandateaspoonofsugarhavethesamenumberof
calories.
Ateaspoonofhoneyandateaspoonofsugarhavethesamenumberof
carbohydrates.
Ateaspoonofhoneyandateaspoonofsugarhavethesameeffectona
person’sglycemicindex(GI).GIisameasureofhowcarbohydrates
affectaperson’sbloodsugarlevel.HighGIfoods“spike”aperson’s
bloodsugarlevelwhichmayincreaseaperson’sriskofcoronaryheart
diseaseandType2diabetes.
Honeyisaddedtocertainbakedgoodstoextendshelflife.
Honeyisnotrecommendedforinfantsunderoneyearofage.
Divideintogroupsof2-3students.Readthefollowingarticles.Discusswithyourgroupifyou
learnedanythingnewabouthoneyortablesugar.
• “CarbohydratesandtheSweetnessofHoney”
http://www.honey.com/images/downloads/carb.pdf
• “IsHoneytheSameasSugar?”
http://extension.arizona.edu/sites/extension.arizona.edu/files/pubs/az1577.pdf
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Honey as a Biomolecule
(continued)
Part 2: Comparing Carbs
Carbohydratesarethemainsourceofenergyforlivingorganisms.Glucose,fructose,andgalactose
arethethreemonosaccharidesorsinglesugarmolecules.Disaccharidesareformedbytwo
monosaccharidesbondedtogetherandincludesucrose,alsoknownastablesugar,andlactose,the
sugarfoundinmilk.Polysaccharidesarelargemoleculesformedbymanymonosaccharidesbonded
together.Animalsstorecarbohydratesinthepolysaccharideglycogen.Plantsstorecarbohydrates
inthepolysaccharides,starchandincellulose,whichisusedforstructureandsupport.Whether
simpleorcomplex,allcarbohydratesaremadeofsugar,butnotallsugarsareequallysweet.
Foodscientistshaveratedtherelativesweetnessofcarbohydratesasseeninthetable.
RelativeSweetnessScale
Carbohydrate
Glucose
Rating
70-80
Galactose
35
Fructose
140
Sucrose(glucose+fructose)
100
Lactose(glucose+galactose)
20
HighFructoseCornSyrup
120-160
1. Whichmonosaccharideisthesweetest?
Digestion:Whenadisaccharidebreaksdownintoitscomponentmonosaccharides,thesweetness
changesaswell.Theresultingsweetnesscanbedeterminedbyaveragingthesweetnessofthetwo
monosaccharides.
Lactoseisthedisaccharidefoundinmilk.Beforelactosecanbeusedbythebody,itmustbebroken
downintomonosaccharides.Theenzyme,lactase,breaksdownlactoseintothemonosaccharides,
glucoseandgalactose.Whenlactoseisdigesteditssweetnesschanges,too.Thenewsweetnesscan
becalculatedbyaveragingthesweetnessratingofthetwomonosaccharides;glucose(75)and
galactose(35).Theaveragevalueforglucoseisshownintheexample.
Example:
!"#$"
%
=
''(
%
= 55
2. Howdoesthesweetnessofmilkcomparetothesweetnessofmilkthathasbeendigestedby
lactase?
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Honey as a Biomolecule
(continued)
3. Sucroseortablesugarisalsoadisaccharide.Whattwomonosaccharidescomposesucrose?
4. Usingtheaveragevalueforglucose,calculatethesweetnessofsucroseafterithasbeen
brokendownintoitscomponentmonosaccharides.
5. Howdoesthesweetnessofsucrosecomparetothesweetnessofsucrosethathasbeen
digestedbyenzymes?
6. Breakingdowndisaccharidesintomonosaccharidesisnecessaryfordigestionbutfood
scientistsseeanotherbenefit.Ofwhatadvantageisproducingsucrosethathasalreadybeen
brokendownbyenzymes?
HowBeesProcessNectarintoHoney:Beesmakehoneyby
gatheringnectarfromcertainfloweringplants.Nectaris
sucrose.Foragingbeescarrythenectartotheirhivewhere
receivingbeesunloadthenectarloadandbegintoprocessthe
nectarintohoney.Duringtheprocessing,beesaddinvertase,an
enzymethatbreaksdownsucrose.
7. Howdoyouthinksweetnessofhoneycomparestothesweetnessofnectar?Explainyour
thinking.
ExaminetheingredientsonthelabelforJuniorMintstoanswerthequestionsbelow.
8. Whatcarbohydrateshavebeenused?
9. Whatenzymehasbeenaddedandhowwillthataffectthesweetnessofthecarbohydrates?
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Honey as a Biomolecule
(continued)
Part 3: Developing a Food Product with Honey
Foodscientistsusetheirknowledgeofbiology,chemistry,andchemicalengineeringtobetter
understandfoodprocessesandtoimprovefoodproductsforconsumers.Imagineyouareafood
scientistdevelopinganewfoodproductusinghoneyasaningredient.
10. Whatisthenameofyourproduct?
11. Whoisthecoreaudienceforyourproduct?
12. Whatwillyourpackaginglooklike?
13. Whatingredientswillbeusedinyourproduct?
14. Drawaquicksketchofwhatyourproductwilllooklike?
15. Listthreereasonswhyafoodscientistmightusehoneyinsteadofsugarinthisrecipe.
(Youmaywanttorefertopage4inHoney:AReferenceGuidetoNature’sSweetenerfound
here:http://www.honey.com/images/uploads/general/refguide.pdftoreadaboutsomeof
theapplicationsforhoneyinfoodproducts.)
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