Measuring glucose concentration in fruit using a blood glucose meter.

Glucose concentration of diluted juice

of a ripe strawberry

Testing glucose quantitatively with any precision is not easy to do in a DP Biology lab but for a few euros it
is possible to make excellent use of home glucose test kits to get precise glucose concentrations. These
meters open a world of opportunities for DP Biology students at an affordable price.

Safety: The IB guidelines on animal experiments prohibits the testing of human blood. Do not use lancets
which are often supplied with the meters in the lab.

Human blood glucose concentrations are lower than than the concentration in fruit flesh.

The protocol shown in this activity demonstrates the use of these glucose meters to measure concentrations
of glucose in fresh fruit. Human blood concentrations are approximately twenty times lower than strawberry
flesh, and sugary drinks can have double this concentration. It is important to prepare a suitable dilution of
the crushed fruit flesh or the meter reading will read “Hi” and the test strip will be wasted.

It is important to treat the test strips with care. They will only work once, and must be kept clean and dry
before use.

Hypotheses

Null hypothesis: All strawberries have the same concentration of glucose.

Alternative hypothesis: Over-ripe strawberries will contain more glucose than under -ripe strawberries.

Apparatus

Balance +/- 0.1g

Pestle and mortar.
Syringe with a volume of 20ml.
Distilled water ( or better, buffer pH 7)
Scalpel or knife to cut a piece of each fruit.
Glucose test meter and new test strips.

© David Faure, 2021, http://www.thinkib.net/biology

Method

1. Measure 1.0g of fruit using the balance.

2. Fill the syringe with 19ml of distilled water

3. Add the fruit and the water to the pestle and mortar.
This makes a 1 in 20 dilution of the fruit which is required because without a dilution the glucose
concentration is above the range of the sensor.

4. Crush the fruit to obtain a smooth solution.

5. Load a test strip into the test meter.

6. Briefly dip the test strip into the fruit solution.

7. After 5 seconds the meter will show a glucose concentration.

8. Multiply the concentration by 20 to get the concentration of the

fruit.

9. To convert mmol/L to mg/dL multiply by 18. Glucose concentration of diluted

juice of an unripe strawberry

Note:
Dilution factors of 1 in 20 will work for many natural fruits and juices, but more sugary drinks will need a
dilution of 1 in 50, or possibly even more.

Results

Concentration of glucose in an under-ripe strawberry: ______________________

Concentration of glucose in an overripe strawberry: ____________________

Conclusion

1. Which hypothesis does your data support? ____________________________________________

2. How confident are you about your conclusion? ________________________________________

3. Some sources say the glucose meter is only accurate to +/- 20%.
How does knowing this uncertainty change your confidence in the conclusion?

_______________________________________________________________________________

© David Faure, 2021, http://www.thinkib.net/biology