Flowers and Food Coloring

By: Danielle deLisi

The Question…..

Does food coloring have an effect on the life span of a flower?

Background and Preparation

• Elementary school project• Prom• Quantifying death?– Linda’s By Design

Dyes and Lakes

• Dyes dissolve easily in water. – Beverages, baked goods, pet foods and a variety of

products. • Lakes are excellent for coloring products that

contain fat and oils. – Tablets, cakes, doughnuts, hard candy and chewing

gum.

(http://pubs.acs.org/cen/whatstuff/stuff/8134foodcoloring.html)

The Project

• 15 White Roses• 15 ShopRite clear plastic cups• Badia Food Coloring- red, yellow, green, blue• 4 colors and 1 control group• Test time- 1 week

Procedure

• Label cups• Add water- bottom-most line• Add food coloring- 3 drops• Cut roses• Put roses in cups• Take picture• observe

Hypothesis

• Roses that have added food coloring in their water will lose their petals faster than roses without anything added to the water.

Day 1

• 12 hour difference

• Already showing color

• Flowers open up

Day 2

• Green/Blue speckled top– Blue #1,

Green #1, Yellow #3

Day 3

• Curling Petals– Blue #1&3,

Green #1-3, Yellow #3, Red #2-3

Day 4

• Greater tint shows more speckle– All show

speckle• Flowers

opening• Yellow #3

browning

Day 5

• Blue #2 not coloring as fast

• Yellow #3 has yellow/brown tips

• Red #2 petals curling

Day 6

• Control petals begin to curl

• Green & Blue petals still curling

Day 7

• Red/Yellow vs. Green/Blue– Smooth vs.

speckled• Fraying• Browning– Blue #2

Red Flowers

Yellow Flowers

Control Flowers

Green Flowers

Blue Flowers

0 12 24 36 48 60 72 84 96 108 120 132 144 1560

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

Color Progression of Flowers Based on Observation

Time in Hours

Estim

ated

Col

or C

hang

e

0 12 24 36 48 60 72 84 96 108 120 132 144 1560

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

Average Progression of Flowers Based on Observation

Avg RedAvg YellowAvg GreenAvg BlueAvg Control

Time in Hours

Estim

ated

Col

or C

hang

e

Unaccounted Variables

• Roses not in same stages of bloom• Water level, refill or not?• Time Restraint• Amount of light• Mold

Cut Flowers and the Mold

• Cut flowers create air bubbles– Block xylem

• Flower preservatives– Biocides- kill bacteria• Stops blockage of xylem

(http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/latest-questions/question/2963/)

Conclusion

• Colored flowers appear to brown faster, but due to unsure development of original flowers it is not definite.

• Flowers that were more open at the beginning of the experiment absorbed color faster and had more speckling towards the top of the petals.

Does Food Coloring Effect Plant Mood?

• Artificial food colors can cause depression, anxiety, and attention deficit disorder (ADD) persist.

• Certain European countries have made the use of FD & C colors illegal.

(http://topics.wisegeek.org/topics.htm?artificial-food-coloring#)

More Questions….?

• Does stem height effect absorption of water/color?

• Does the amount of petals affect the rate of coloring? (Daisies)

• Does concentration, amount of dye vs. water, effect longevity of flower or rate of absorption?

More Questions…?

• Why were red and yellow more evenly colored then green and blue which were speckled?

• Do flowers in different stages absorb at different rates?

• Would mixing dyes effect on the coloring of the flower?– Red+Blue vs. Purple dye

Bibliography• Castor-Perry, Sarah. "Science Questions." What Biological Process Causes

Flowers to Wilt? The Naked Scientists, Mar. 2011. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. <http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/latest-

questions/question/2963/>.• Ellis-Christensen, Tricia. "Artificial Food Coloring." WiseGEEK. Ed. O.

Wallace. Conjecture Corporation, 23 Oct. 2012. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. <http://topics.wisegeek.org/topics.htm?artificial-food- coloring>.

• Gilman, Victoria. "C&EN: WHAT'S THAT STUFF? - FOOD COLORING." Chemical & Engineering News: Science & Technology 81.34 (2003): 34. C&EN: WHAT'S THAT STUFF? - FOOD COLORING. Chemical & Engineering News, American Chemical Society, 25 Aug. 2003. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. <http://pubs.acs.org/cen/whatstuff/stuff/8134foodcoloring.ht ml>.