Quantitative determination of ascorbic acid levels in citrus fruits :

Abstract

Humans are one of the known species lacking the enzyme (L- gluconolactone oxidase, GLO) to convert glucose to vitamin C hence causing low levels of vitamin C in their bodies. These, later on, cause several deficiencies in the body such as scurvy, vision loss, weak immunity, being tired and cranky, dry and wrinkled skin, weight gain, bleeding gums, nose bleed, bruises, slow wound healing. However, there are high rates of cases that are caused due to deficiency of ascorbic acid in the human body across the world. (Rowe & Carr, 2008) The daily requirement of ascorbic acid in the body is set at about 100 mg. Citrus fruit extracts are also found to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumour, anti-fungal, and blood clot inhibition activities. The overall review focuses on vitamin C deficiencies in human bodies, its sources, methods of extracting the ascorbic acid from various fruits, methods used to determine the concentration of vitamin C in different citrus fruits and crystallise ascorbic as with high concentration. Several techniques that asses' the vitamin C concentration are discussed which include; UV-Vis, spectrophotometry, electrophoresis, titration, and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) (Gazdik et al., 2008). The nature and concentration of the organic acids in fruits are of interest because of their significant influence on the fruit juices’ organoleptic properties and stability. This study compares vitamin C content and concentration of citrus fruits (oranges and lemons). (Nojavan et al., 2008).

Keywords: Vitamin C status; hypovitaminosis C; vitamin C deficiency; dietary intake; Citrus fruit.