Two digestive experiments: Digestive mechanism & observation of digestive organs
We will conduct a digestion experiment using "niboshi", which is a dried small fish that has been used for a long time in Japan, and stomach medicine.
Experiment 1: Anatomy of ”Nibosi” which is a dried sardines
you need : dried sardines, tweezers
To soften it, soak the dried sardines in water for about 30 minutes, wrap it in newspaper and heat it in the microwave for about 1 and a half minutes.
From the outside of the body, we will talk about how to attach fins, their roles, eyes, lateral line, and living environment. Separate the head and torso. Divide the head into two and observe the gills and swords. Talk about food and breathing. Remove the eyes, brain, and otoliths from the head. Otoliths are small and confusing.
The heart is in the shape of a triangle that sticks to the liver. One atriosphere One ventricle is not very capable. There is a stomach hidden in the liver. The small intestine is tubular. Let's talk about the digestive system.
By observing the contents of the stomach with a microscope, you can understand the living environment and eating habits. You can see many larvae such as shrimp crabs. It's a very good teaching material, but the disadvantage of large dried sardines is that they are surprisingly expensive.
Experiment 2: Digestives are truly. Enzyme action on starch
you need : Starch glue (or potato starch if not), grated radish, digestive agent (diastase), glassware
The digestive drug contains diastase (amylase). Amylase is also contained in grated radish. Digestion experiments will be conducted using these.
Prepare a thin starch paste. Take about 1 ml in a test tube and add water, grated radish juice, and digestive medicine from the left. The stomach medicine of Sankyo Pharmaceutical used this time was brown.
Warm with lukewarm water at 37 ° C for 5 minutes and check for starch remaining by iodine reaction. The water was bluish purple, grated radish was slightly bluish purple, and the stomach medicine was brown. Then examine the Benedict reaction. It looks like the picture above. Of course, this experiment cannot be skipped, but it is done to think broadly about enzymes. Fermented foods, vegetables, and fruits contain various enzymes, and these enzymes assist human digestion to supplement human enzyme deficiency and prevent deterioration of metabolism and immunity. Enzymes support the maintenance of vital activities throughout the body in addition to digestion.