Destarch the plants by leaving them in the
dark for 48 hours.
2. Boil the leaf in water for 30 seconds.
• This kill the cells in the leaf,
• break down the membrane so iodine
solution can get through cell membrane
to reach starch inside the chloroplasts
and react with them.
Testing for the presence of starch
Saturday, August 3, 13
3. Boil the leaf in alcohol in a water bath
in order to remove chlorophyll by
dissolving it out with alcohol.
4. Rinse the leaf in water to softens it
(boiling the leaf in alcohol makes it
brittle).
5. Spread the leaf on a white tile and add
iodine solution to the leaf.