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Emulsion Test for Lipids in Food

This document describes a process for testing whether lipids are present in a food sample. The process involves adding the sample to ethanol to dissolve any lipids, then transferring the mixture to water. If the mixture remains clear, there are no lipids present, but if it becomes cloudy, lipids are present, as they will form an emulsion of dispersed droplets in the water. The test works because lipids are insoluble in water but soluble in ethanol, allowing them to be detected when the ethanol solution is added to water.

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1K views1 page

Emulsion Test for Lipids in Food

This document describes a process for testing whether lipids are present in a food sample. The process involves adding the sample to ethanol to dissolve any lipids, then transferring the mixture to water. If the mixture remains clear, there are no lipids present, but if it becomes cloudy, lipids are present, as they will form an emulsion of dispersed droplets in the water. The test works because lipids are insoluble in water but soluble in ethanol, allowing them to be detected when the ethanol solution is added to water.

Uploaded by

Oksana
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Testing for Lipids (Fats) in a Food Sample

Process
Add the food sample to two cubic centimetres of ethanol
Shake well
Allow to settle in a test tube rack for two minutes
Empty any clear liquid into a test tube containing two cubic centimetres of
distilled water
If the mixture remains clear there are no fats present in the sample
However, if the mixture becomes cloudy there are fats present in the sample
Explanation
This test is called the emulsion test for lipids.
Lipids are insoluble (will not dissolve) in water and soluble (will dissolve) in
ethanol (an alcohol).
After lipids have been dissolved in ethanol and then added to water, they will
form tiny dispersed droplets in the water. This is called an emulsion.
These droplets are formed from a single layer of lipids arranged with their
hydrophobic (water hating) tails pointing inwards.
These droplets scatter light as it passes through the water so it appears white
and cloudy.

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