COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF VITAMIN C CONTENT OF SOME LOCALLY AVAILABLE PACKED AND FRESH FRUIT JUICES BY REDOX TITRATION METHOD.

Present study was conducted with the aim to compare the concentrations of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in packed and fresh fruits, and to evaluate the potential benefits of fresh fruit juices over packed fruit juices. Fresh fruits such as mango, lemon, orange, apple (green) and apple (red) were purchased from supermarket in Farasan and brought to the biology laboratory of Faculty of Science and Arts in Farasan. The fruit samples were thoroughly washed with normal tap water, juice from each fruit was squeezed out manually without applying heat or any solvent, and filtered with a muslin cloth to get rid of pulp and seeds. However, the collected packed juices of the same fruits were simply unsealed and taken directly in a test tube for analysis. The juices thus extracted were then subsequently analyzed for ascorbic acid content of by iodometric titration method which is a simple and precise method. All the analyses were done in triplicates (n=3). The results of present study indicated that the concentration of ascorbic acid in the freshly collected juice samples was found to be: mango (88.10 mg/100 mL), lemon (49.32 mg/100 mL), orange (53.00 mg/100 mL), and apples (green, red) (29.10 and 28.3 mg/100 mL). However, the analyzed vitamin C content in packed juice samples of were 63.89, 47.51, 44.28, 25.30 and 11.90 mg/100mL, respectively for mango, lemon, orange, apple and pineapple juices. From these results it is concluded that to derive maximum benefits in terms of vitamin C content, the fruits must be consumed fresh.