Question

Which one of the following is now being commercially produced by biotechnological procedures?
A. Insulin
B. Nicotine
C. Morphine
D. Quinine

Answer 1

Hint: Most of the products which are biotechnologically produced are generally the one’s which the body cannot prepare properly and they are generally medicines. But the food industry also involves biotechnology in preparing items to save time and manpower.

Complete answer:
The options provided are mostly medicines and if we discuss all the properties and character of the medicines then we will be able to find our answer. First is the insulin, now insulin as we know plays a major role in regulating the sugar levels in the blood of humans. If insulin stops forming then the blood sugar level will increase and this results in the occurrence of diabetes and then the person has to rely on tablets to maintain the blood sugar levels. So, scientists have found a way in which they studied the morphology of insulin. The insulin is formed of two chains A and B. Scientists prepared these two chains separately inside the E. coli bacteria and then isolated it and then joined artificially. This results in the formation of insulin which is very effective for diabetic patients. Thus, insulin is a biotechnological product.
Rest other options are nicotine, morphine and quinine, these products are found in the plants and have different uses. Like nicotine is used in making cigarettes, morphine is used in the medical field and the quinine is very effective in treating the malaria. These products are widely and easily available in the environment so there is no use of creating these using biotechnology.

So, the correct answer is the option A.

Note:
The biotechnologically produced insulin is used as it is and injected into the person intravenously to maintain the blood sugar levels. Also, diabetes is of two types, in one type the body does not produce sufficient insulin and in the other one the body stops producing the insulin.