The Effect of Food Preservatives on the Voltage Production from Cellular Respiration in Saccharomyces cerevisiae as Measured by a Microbial Fuel Cell

Food preservatives have previously been shown to inhibit the ability of cellular respiration in organisms. Microbial fuel cells uses carbon dioxide in combination with a cation exchange membrane and a potassium hexacyanoferrate (III) solution to exhibit a voltage. The purpose of this research was to determine if the food preservatives sodium benzoate and sorbic acid significantly affect the process of cellular respiration in S. cerevisiae. This knowledge may be beneficial for food manufacturers regarding the use of S. cerevisiae during food production and the effect of adding preservatives on food quality. It was hypothesized that if S. cerevisiae were exposed to food preservatives, the voltage potential would decrease significantly compared to a control group exposed to no food preservatives because of their low pH. To complete this experiment, a slurry containing S. cerevisiae and food preservatives was prepared and put into the fuel cell. The voltages produced by the fuel cell were recorded in three 10-day intervals, with data collected once each day. Using a two-way ANOVA, it was found that the results were significant and that sorbic acid and sodium benzoate had a significant effect on the cellular respiration of the S. cerevisiae, as shown by p \u3c0.001, and F=17.45. The hypothesis was supported, and the results seemed to indicate that food preservatives affect cellular respiration by lowering the pH significantly