EFFECTS OF WHITE SUGAR AND SUGAR SUBSTITUTES ON THE GROWTH OF ACTIVE DRY YEAST

Abstract

Sugar, a vital component for yeast growth and an essential ingredient in processes like baking and brewing, is responsible for some of our most important foods and beverages, there is little research on the environmental impact. This experiment aimed to determine how sugar substitutes affect yeast growth, while also considering the environmental risks they may pose. We hypothesized that yeast will grow most with white sugar compared to other sugar substitutes (i.e. Splenda and Stevia). An experiment was conducted and yeast growth was measured under four conditions: no sugar (control), white sugar, Splenda, and Stevia. Warmed water was used alongside various sugars, added with the yeast. For each treatment, the experiment was replicated five times to ensure consistent results. The average yeast growth after 40 minutes for white sugar, Splenda, Stevia and the control was recorded to be 12.7 cm, 10.6 cm, 8.3 cm and 0.0068 cm, respectively. For data analysis, we performed a one-way ANOVA test and a Tukey test, and concluded that white sugar yielded the highest yeast growth. Thus, signifying that sugar substitutes cannot replace sugar in important processes and are not worth the damage they cause to the environment.