Vitamin C

Determination
Dhairya Patil
Little Rock Central High School

Mrs. Donham and Dr.Maris 10th grade

Abstract:
This project looks at if raw food has more vitamin C than cooked food. The problem or purpose
of this experiment is that vitamin C is an ascorbic acid, allows essential metabolic reactions to be
carried out in cells. Without vitamin C, organisms will not be able to function correctly. The
purpose of this experiment is to find out how varying the temperature affects the Vitamin C
content. This will help us determine if raw food have more vitamin C than cooked foods. This
was done by putting the indicator solution into test tubes and putting in drops of the orange juice
at different temperatures into it, to see how many drops it takes for the indicator solution to turn
clear. The results suggested that the orange juice at room temperature took more drops to clear.
As the temperature increased, the less drops of orange juice it took for the indicator solution to
clear. My hypothesis, if the fruit juice is not exposed to any heat and are measured at room
temperature then it will take more drop of the juice to clear the indicator solution because the
more heat and time vitamin C is exposed to the vitamin C will start to degrade was supported by
my results.

Problem:
Vitamin C is an ascorbic acid allowing essential metabolic reactions to be carried out in the body.
Without vitamin C, organisms will not be able to function correctly. The purpose of this
experiment is to find out how varying the temperature during cooking food affects the vitamin C
content. This will help us determine if raw food have more vitamin C than cooked foods.

Background:
Vitamin C is an ascorbic acid allowing essential metabolic reactions to be carried out in the body.
Without vitamin C, organisms will not be able to function correctly. The purpose of this
experiment is to find out how varying the temperature during cooking food affects the vitamin C
content. This will help us determine if raw food have more vitamin C than cooked foods.
Citrus fruits have been evaluated for their tastes and their healthy benefits, increasingly the fact
that citrus fruits are good for people to maintain a healthy life. Citrus fruits are a good source of
vitamin C and are rich source of materials that are Essential for growth and development of
one’s well being. These citrus fruits contain some non-nutrient compounds that help and avoid
the chronic diseases. Vitamin C is necessary to maintain the collagen, which is an elastic
compound which can be found in bones, blood vessels, muscle tissues, and skin. The daily intake
of vitamin C is different depending on your age. The recommended amount for adults is from 75
to 125 milligrams depending on daily activities and gender. ( Dubois)
Citrus fruit have been valued for their tastes and their healthy benefits, increasingly the
fact that citrus fruits are good for people to maintain a healthy life. Citrus fruits are a good source
of vitamin C and are a rich source of minerals that are essential for growth and development of
one’s well-being. These citrus fruits contained some non-nutrient compounds that help and avoid
the chronic diseases. Vitamin C is an ascorbic acid, a water soluble vitamin. Intake of at least 10
mg per day of Vitamin C prevents scurvy and plays an important role in the formation of the
collagen. Researchers have shown that high consumption of vitamin C in any form (vegetables
and fruits) can lower the risk of getting any type of cancer. Lower intake of vitamin C have
resulted in cancer, strokes, high blood pressure and gallbladder diseases. Too much vitamin C
(above 500 mg), can be dangerous to someone, especially for those at risk of iron overload.
Vitamin C has been proved to treat anaemia and stress and also is an aid in the absorption of the
inorganic iron. Vitamin C daily intake is recommended by many doctors, and varies from age to
age Vitamin C is available in two forms natural and synthetic ascorbic acid and is chemically
identical. Vegetables and fruits are mostly contained with 70-90% of water, and when they are
separated from their source, the vegetables and fruits undergo respiration resulting in degradation
of nutrients and loss of moisture. (Rickman, 2007). Cooking of fresh fruits and vegetables,
vitamin C is sensitive to air, heat and light which can destroy the food. When foods are cooked,
and are exposed to heat, the foods start to lose their vitamin C content. It was also observed that
heating affected the vitamin C content of all the vegetables, as the heating time increases, the
vitamin C content decreases, while the temperature was kept constant. Vitamin C is water-
soluble as such easily leached into the water and then degraded by heat. (Igwemmar, 2013).
Destruction of vitamins is dependent on their source or their food. One of the factor is their pH
level. Since vitamin C is an ascorbic acid it is weak and stays stable and/or constant if it is within
its environment. Oxidation is also one of the factors that lead to the destruction of vitamin C.
When oranges are peeled and opened, the orange is exposed to oxygen and moments later it
starts to lose its vitamin without any temperature change. Temperature is also one of the factor
which affects the vitamin C in foods and destroys them at high temperature. All these factors are
related to each other and contributed in the degradation of vitamin C.
If the fruit juices are not exposed to any heat and are measured at room temperature
then it will take more drops of the orange juice to clear the indicator solution because the more
heat and time vitamin C is exposed to the vitamin C will start to degrade.

Hypothesis:
If the fruit juices are not exposed to any heat and are measured at room temperature then it will
take more drops of the juice to clear the indicator solution because the more heat and time
vitamin C is exposed to, the vitamin C will start to degrade.

Methods:
Prepare the iodine indicator:
1. 14 grams of cornstarch will be mixed with 20 ml of water to form a paste.
2. The paste will be added to 250ml of water and boiled for about 5 minutes.
3. Using a dropper, 10 drops of the boiled to solution will be added to 75ml of water.
4. Iodine solution will be added to the mixture until it forms dark-purple color.
Measurement of drops:
1. 5 ml of the iodine indicator will be added 4 separate test tubes.
2. Orange juice will be squeezed into a container
3. In the first test tube orange juice at room temperature will be added into the iodine indicator.
4. After every 3 drops the test the will be shaken. Make sure to count the drops.
5. Drops of juice will be added until the indicator solution is clear. Record the number of drops.
6. To check for the clearness, the number of drops it took for the indicator solution to turn clear
will be written down. If the color changes then more drops will be added
7. Step 6 will be repeated until no further color change appears
8. This test will be kept aside to compare with the other temperature.
9. For the second test tube, orange will be boiled until it reaches 50 degrees celsius.
10. Orange juice at temperature of 50 degree Celsius will be added to the indicator solution
11. Drops of juice will be added until the mixture is clear. The number of drops will be recorded.
12. Step 6 will be repeated to check for the clearness.
13. For the third test tube, Orange juice will be boiled until it reacher 75 degree celsius.
14. Orange juice at a temperature of a 75 degree Celsius will be added to the indicator solution
15. Drops of juice will be added until the mixture turns clear. The number of drops will be
recorded.
16. Step 6 will be repeated to the check for clearness.
17. For the fourth test tube, orange juice will be boiled until it reaches 100 degree Celsius
18. Orange juice at a temperature of 100 degree celsius will be added to the mixture.
19. Drops of juice will be added until the mixture is clear. The number of drops will be recorded.
20. Steps 1-19 will be followed for the next three trials.

Data and observations:

Average drops of orange juice

70
62
60

50
44

40
Number

Orange

31.75
drops
juice
of

30 26.5

20

10

0
room 50 degree Celsius 75 degree Celsius 100 degree
temperature Celsius
Temperature

This graph shows the average of drops of each of the orange juice at
different temperatures it took for the indicator solution to turn clear
As I was performing the experiment I observed that more drops of the orange juice were needed
to clear the indicator solution than it took for the orange juices at 50, 75 and 100 degree Celsius.

Discussion:
The experiment done by Bryan T, resulted in no temperature effect to the vitamin C. The heat did
not effect the orange juice whereas when I performed my experiment, it resulted in the heat
having effects on my orange juice and decreasing the drops as the temperature went high to clear
the indicator solution. While doing the experiment there were some errors like putting in a lot of
the iodine to the cornstarch mixture. The changes that I would make the next time I do the
experiment would be changing the fruit and using multiple fruits instead of one, using different
temperatures and different ways of heating the juice.

Conclusion:
The results of this experiment indicated that the room the orange juice at room temperature
needed more drops of the indicator solution to turn clear. The orange juice at room temperature
took 57-60 drops, then 50 degree Celsius with 39-50 drops, 75 degree Celsius with 28-35 drops
and lastly 100 degree Celsius with 25-30 drops. This result supported my hypothesis that if the
fruit juice is not exposed to any heat and are measured at room temperature then it will take more
drops of the juice to clear the indicator solution because the more heat and time vitamin C is
exposed to the Vitamin C will start to degrade.
Bibliography:

(n.d.). Retrieved September 28, 2017, from

http://web.cn.edu/stkarr/ascorbic%20acid%20aortic%20wall%20bkg%20info.htm

Vitamin C. (n.d.). Retrieved September 28, 2017, from

https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/539-vitamin-c

Office of Dietary Supplements - Vitamin C. (n.d.). Retrieved September 28, 2017, from
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminC-HealthProfessional/

Measuring the Vitamin C content of foods and fruit juices. (n.d.). Retrieved September 28, 2017,
from
http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/practical-biology/measuring-vitamin-c-content-
foods-and-fruit-juices

Vitamin C In Fruits & Vegetables. (n.d.). Retrieved October 03, 2017, from

https://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/vitamin-c-in-fruits-and-vegetables