Biotechnology workshops for secondary education: antioxidants, the fountain of youth?

Theory and practice about biotechnology-related issues have been topics of workshops for students and teachers of the Post Graduate in Biotechnology UNIVATES to secondary education students. We held ten different workshops aimed at the food production and health, among which stands out in this study, the workshop entitled "Antioxidants: the fountain of youth?", which evaluated the antioxidant potential of natural juice orange select and pearl pineapple. Previously, a protocol was structured on the practice, which aimed to evaluate the juice antioxidant potential of the fruit orange select and pearl pineapple, which was compared with the antioxidant reference compound, ascorbic acid, with adaptations according to spectrophotometric method in vitro DPPH. The workshops about antioxidants have 180 minutes duration and have been taught by three monitors responsible for assisting students throughout the activity. The workshops involved 388 students from seven schools in six municipalities of Taquari-RS Valley, and the workshop about antioxidants had 62 participants. This activity aimed to promote interaction and diffusion of knowledge among students of higher education and secondary education.