Old wives鈥� tales were the original social media trends. One person would try something new to fix a problem, convinced themselves that it worked, and pass the tip along to their friends and children until it spread, slowly. Today, these tales still circulate but their reach has exploded thanks to the invention of a story teller鈥檚 most powerful tool: the internet. And now, it seems that red cabbage is having its moment.
Red Cabbage, More Than Just a Veggie
Have you ever thought of using red cabbage for anything more than cooking? Unless you鈥檙e chemically inclined, probably not. Interestingly, it does do more than add colour to your salad. Once you boil down its leaves, the deep bluish liquid left behind can be used as a pH indicator. In more simple terms, it can detect whether something is an acid or a base. Of course, we will not be replacing phenolphthalein with cabbage juice in our labs, but the extract does evaluate pH quite accurately for being a natural indicator. I work often with red cabbage juice when aminating experiments for younger audiences, yet it never ceases to amaze me. When combined with an acidic solution like vinegar or lemon juice (low pH), the dark blue extract turns hot pink. When the added solution is basic like drain cleaner or baking soda (high pH), it will turn yellow! It would be magic if it wasn鈥檛 chemistry.
How does it work?
This cruciferous vegetable contains compounds called which are what interacts with the acidic and basic compounds. When exposed to each, the molecule changes its configuration (shape), . Red cabbage is among the most sensitive natural indicators. Turmeric also has pH indicator capabilities, but often the distinction between different pH levels is not easy. Cabbage on the other hand produces a wide range of colours at distinct pH levels (1-14), allowing for a more accurate determination of pH. This indicator property was probably not known by those who thought that this extract can determine the sex of a pregnant woman鈥檚 baby.
Pink or blue? Red cabbage has the clue鈥�
You heard me right, apparently some people trust cabbage juice as much as they trust a modern-day ultrasound to determine the sex of their baby. It would be convenient if this worked because the test is carried out very easily and cheaply. Preparing the extract requires bringing a half a head of red cabbage to a boil, then letting it simmer for (now why 11, no one knows), combining the cooled down, strained solution with equal parts of an expectant mother鈥檚 urine and observing the colour change. Now it is said that if the solution turns . If it is . I don鈥檛 know about you, but I wouldn鈥檛 bet the gender of my baby on my ability to distinguish red from pink, especially when there are so many other factors at play (concentration, lighting, etc.).
The colour change results from the pH of the mother鈥檚 urine. However, as medical professionals have pointed out when being asked about the validity of this method, . There is no way to accurately say that a certain pH level of a pregnant woman鈥檚 urine is associated with carrying a boy or a girl. Despite having no scientific backing, this trend is still being done by mothers hoping to have an early insight into what they are having. This test allegedly has yielded a . If this is true, it can also be said that 45% of the time the baby鈥檚 gender is not successfully identified by the cabbage juice. I don鈥檛 gamble and even I know those odds aren鈥檛 great.
While doing my research about this trend I did stumble upon another rather interesting alternative. There is an at-home test that can be ordered to determine the sex of your baby. Usually, mothers must wait for that 20-week ultrasound to determine if the baby will be a boy or girl, but with DNA tests, this can be done as soon as 6 weeks. Companies like that sell at home DNA tests require the expectant to draw their blood in a small vial and send it back to the testing facility. There, the blood is analyzed for the absence or presence of the Y chromosome that would make the baby a male. The company claims of their tests which surprisingly was supported by one of their clinical trials. The gender at birth of . Now I am not endorsing this brand or this test, but it is definitely a more accurate alternative to cabbage juice.
So, keep the cabbage away from the bathroom
There you have it. Red cabbage cannot predict the sex of your incoming baby. What it can do is impress your friends and family with some impressive colour changes. Boil some of those purple leaves and get to testing the pH of household items and just remember, it鈥檚 not magic, it鈥檚 chemistry.
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Angelina Lapalme is a U3 BSc student majoring in Bio-Organic Chemistry at 麻豆传媒网站.
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