“Ferric ion reducing antioxidant power…”
Shea Walker hastily scrawls descriptions and diagrams across a whiteboard in the front of a conference room in the Biotechnology Laboratory Incubator (BLI) at the edge of the SIUE campus. Seated behind her, Robert Dixon, Ph.D. and chemistry professor and Shea’s classmates look on.
Detailing the methods they’ll be using for sample testing in the coming weeks and months, Walker completes the notes. She is a Biochemistry major focusing on Fermentation Chemistry at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and the student lab leader.
The success of the BLI is dependent on passionate students, like Walker who perform important research with real-world applications.
In the BLI, chemistry students have been given the opportunity to conduct scientific research for local, small- and medium-sized businesses as a part of a new USDA grant. The project is entitled “Fueling Growth: An Integrated, Capacity-Building Grant for Experiential Learning, Extension and Economic (E3) Development in Rural America.”
For this, the team’s first project, the lab is working with a local beverage startup Beastman Tea to provide the business with data on the antioxidant levels of its cold-brew green tea. The students are comparing the amount of antioxidants in Beastman to popular ready-to-drink-teas already on the market such as Teavana, Honest Tea, and others.
Brad Eastman, the owner of Beastman, is hoping the results of the study indicate that his tea has higher levels of the cancer-fighting antioxidants than its competition. Antioxidants can protect cells from damaging free radicals by, “giving free radicals a source of electrons to take from, rather than taking electrons from your DNA ” which may ultimately “help you from getting cancer,” Walker said.
Students in the team earn elective course credit for participating, and this is their first meeting of the semester. As they review the, “how and why” of the methods they’ve chosen for testing the teas, Nate Schmidt, another Biochemistry major explains the first method, the Ferric Ion Reducing Antioxidant Power test, a.k.a. the FRAP test.
“The FRAP solution contains an iron molecule and has an orange color to it. We’ll add it to the teas and watch over time as the color changes. What it shows is that as the color decreases, less of the iron complex is there because it’s being absorbed by the antioxidants in the tea. The rate of how fast the iron is absorbed depends on the concentration of the antioxidants in the teas.”
The opportunity to learn important research methods like this is only part of the appeal of this course. Several of the students enrolled this semester agreed that the experience they’re gaining through this lab research by using techniques, procedures, and equipment that’s directly transferable to post-graduate jobs, is invaluable.
Biochemistry major Catherine Akley said, “We’re doing testing that has real-life applications. When I work in a lab there’s a good chance that I’ll be doing sample testing, which is what we’re doing now. I feel like I can relate that to the job. It gives me an edge over competitors who are applying for the same position.”
The second method the students have decided to use this semester to test the teas is called a DPPH test. DPPH is an organic chemical compound composed of stable free radicals. By combining one of the teas and DPPH, the student researchers can measure the antioxidant activity as a product of the tea’s ability to act as a free-radical scavenger.
Performing tests like these requires the students to become adept at using the necessary
lab equipment, like spectrometers, to properly measure the tea samples.
The research for Beastman is expected to conclude in early April when the team will present their findings to the owner.
“Brad is getting a lot out of this research, but I think ultimately it’s the students that are really benefiting in all aspects,” Akley said.
The student research team is already beginning to plan for future projects where they will conduct research for other local businesses. For these chemistry students, the BLI in conjunction with the USDA grant presents a valuable opportunity to gain experience in their career field and to work on client projects that may help them get a job when they graduate.