2. Kraft Foods has released a new blue diet Kool-Aid flavor utilizing a sweetene

Question

2. Kraft Foods has released a new blue diet Kool-Aid flavor utilizing a sweetener that achieves the same sweetness as sucrose with 1/10 the amount (by weight) of non-metabolizable sweetener. You rush out to buy some, mix it up, but don't like the taste. As it is Green Week, you pour the pitcher of Kool Aid on the roots of one of your houseplants to avoid wasting the water. The plant responds as is if it was watered with clear water and is otherwise unaffected. However, a few days later you notice that the leaves and flowers are blue. Worse still, you still have this large container of Kool-Aid. So, you decide to experiment by adding sugar to the mix. The result is sweeter, but the Kool-Aid still tastes terrible. Once again, you pour the pitcher of Kool-Aid on the plant roots. This time, the plant wilts and the leaves don't turn blue. You water the plant and it is restored to health, but the leaves only turn slightly blue. What are the biophysical principles that are likely to be contributing to what you have observed?

Explanation / Answer

First condition for seeing the leaves and fruits to turn blue in color because of more presence of iodine in Kool-Aid. So after photosynthesis starch is produced in leaf. We know in the presence of iodine starch produce blue in color.

In second situation when the plants wilts and the leaves dont turn blue in color also because of presence of salinity in Kool-aid. Wilting is caused because of high salinity which causes water to diffuse from the plant cells and induce shrinkage.

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