Question

Why do certain fruits and vegetables have more catalase enzyme than others? Spinach followed by carrots resulted in the most catalase from the following: cucumbers, bananas, oranges, strawberries, spinach, and carrots.

Answer 1

Catalase is an enzyme which is responsible for the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide into water molecule and oxygen molecule. It is an important enzyme in living organisms because it helps the organism to scavenge reactive oxygen species and protect their membranes and DNA from oxidative damage.

The amount of catalyase is different in different organisms because of three reasons -

More the production of hydrogen peroxide or other reactive oxygen species, more will be the production of catalase enzyme.

The higher the temperature of an area where the organisms live, lesser will be the production of catalase.

Greater the surface area of an organism, more will be the production of catalase. This is because greater surface area will tend to have greater oxidative damage by reactive oxygen species.

So you have written that maximum amount of catalyst was found in carrots and spinach. This may be due to their greater surface area as compared to other fruits and vegetables. These fruits may have been taken from a colder climatic area. Both spinach and carrots are winter season crops.

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