Exercise no.

9
TEST FOR VITAMIN C

I. INTRODUCTION

Vitamin C is one of the safest and most effective nutrients, experts say. It may
not be the cure for the common cold (though it's thought to help prevent more serious
complications). But the benefits of vitamin C may include protection against immune
system deficiencies, cardiovascular disease, prenatal health problems, eye disease,
and even skin wrinkling.

A recent study published in Seminars in Preventive and Alternative Medicine

that looked at over 100 studies over 10 years revealed a growing list of benefits of
vitamin C.

"Vitamin C has received a great deal of attention, and with good reason.
Higher blood levels of vitamin C may be the ideal nutrition marker for overall
health," says study researcher Mark Moyad, MD, MPH, of the University of
Michigan. "The more we study vitamin C, the better our understanding of how
diverse it is in protecting our health, from cardiovascular, cancer, stroke, eye health
and immunity to living longer."

II. OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the experiment, each student will be able to:

1. Determine whether a sample solution contains Vitamin C.

2. Determine whether the sample solution contains Vitamin C in higher or lower

concentrations.

III. MATERIALS
10 test tubes, test tube rack, test tube brush Fresh lemon juice
10 droppers, methylene blue Fresh orange juice
Vitamin C fresh tomato juice
canned tomato juice
pineapple juice
cooked cabbage juice
raw cabbage juice

IV. PROCEDURE
Testing for Vitamin C

1. Label 1 test tube with vitamin C and the second with water.
 2. Use a dropper to add 10 drops of blue testing chemical to each tube.
3. Using a different dropper, add one drop at a time of vitamin C to each tube
labeled vitamin C until the blue testing chemical turns from blue to clear.
Shake the tube after adding each drop.
4. Count the number of drop of vitamin C needed to turn the blue testing
chemical from blue to clear. Record the result in the table 1.
5. Repeat the step 3-4 for the test tube labeled water, only this time, use water
instead of vitamin C in step number 3.
6. If the blue testing chemical has not clear after 20 drops of water, stop and
record the number of 20 in table 1.

NOTE: If a liquid has much vitamin C in it, it will take only few drops to turn the blue testing material
clear. If a liquid has a very little vitamin C in it, take many drops to turn the blue testing material clear.

Testing citrus fruits of vitamin C

1. Label test tubes 1-3

2. Use droppers to add 10 drops of blue testing chemical to each test tube.
3. Test for vitamin C as follows:
a. Using a different dropper, and to tube 1 one drop of lemon juice a time
until the blue testing chemical turns to clear.
b. Shake the tube after adding each drop of lemon juice.
c. Count the number of drops of lemon juice needed to turn the blue
testing chemical from blue to clear. Record the result in table 2.
4. Repeat step 3 for test tube 2 using orange instead of lemon juice.
5. Repeat step 3 for test tube 3 using pineapple instead of orange juice.

Is Vitamin C Lost During Cooking?

1. Label 2 test tube 4-5.
2. Use a dropper to add 10 drops of blue testing chemical to each tube.
3. Test for vitamin C as follows:
a. Using different dropper, add tube 4 drop of raw cabbage juice at a time
until the blue testing chemical turns blue to clear.
b. Shake the tube after adding each drop of cabbage juice.
c. Count the number of drops of raw cabbage juice needed to turn blue
testing chemical from blue to clear. Record the result in the table 2.
4. Repeat step 3 for tube 5 Using cooked cabbage juice instead of raw cabbage juice.

Is Vitamin C Lost When Food Is Canned?

1. Label 2 test tube 6-7.
2. Use a dropper to add 10 drops of the blue testing chemical to each test tube.
3. Test for vitamin C as following:
a. Using a different dropper, add to tube 6 one drop of fresh potato juice at a
time until the blue testing chemical turns blue to clear.
b. Shake the tube after adding each drop of tomato juice.
c. Count the number of drops of fresh tomato juice needed to turn blue testing
chemical from blue to clear. Record the result in table 2.
 4. Repeat step 3 for tube 7 using canned tomato juice instead of fresh tomato juice.

Table 1- Testing for Vitamin C

Liquid Being Tested Number of Drops

Vitamin C 40
Water 20

Table 2- Testing Food for Vitamin C

Liquid Being Tested Number of Drops Presence of Vitamin C

Lemon juice 
Orange 
Pineapple 
Raw Cabbage 
Cooked Cabbage 
Fresh Tomato 
Canned Tomato 

V. RESULTS AND OBSERVATION

1. What was the color of the testing chemical

a. Before adding anything to it? Blue
b. After adding vitamin C? Its form into different color and becomes lighter and clearer.

2. In part A, which liquid

a. Took the fewest drops to turn the testing chemical from blue to clear? The Standard
Vitamin C
b. Took the most drops to turn the testing chemical from the blue to clear? Gatorade
c. Contains little or no vitamin C? Pineapple
d. Was your control? Number of drops

3. In part B, which food contains vitamin C.

a. If you wanted to increase the amount of vit. C in your diet, what food type would
be helpful to you?
 The type of food that is rich in vitamin c is citrus fruits. Examples of citrus fruits are kiwi,
lemon, juice, grapefruit, guava. Vegetables could also be rich in vitamin c and the examples of
these are cauliflower, capsicums, broccoli, cabbage, and Brussel sprouts. There are also fruits
wherein they are not citrus but they are rich in vitamin c and they are the cantaloupe,
strawberries, and papaya.

4. In part C, which liquid

a. Took the fewest drops to turn the testing chemical from blue to clear? The standard
Vitamin C
b. Took the most drops to turn the testing chemical from blue to clear? Pineapple
c. Contains the most vitamin C? Orange
d. Contains the least vitamin C? Gatorade
e. Based on the result in part C, does cooking raises or lowers the amount of vitamin C in
food? Why and why not? It lowers the amount of vitamin C or easily degraded during cooking
because of the elevated temperatures and long duration of cooking
f. Does cooking raises or lowers the amount of vitamin C in the cooking liquid? Why and
why not? ______________________________________________________________
g.If you wanted to increase the amount of vitamin C in diet, should you throw away the
liquid in which food like cabbage have been cooked? why and why not?
________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________h.
Explain why cooking lowers the amount of vitamin C in food.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

5. In part D, which food

a. Took the fewest drops to turn the testing chemical from blue to clear?
b. Took the most drops to turn the testing chemical from blue to clear?
c. Contains the most vitamin C? _____________________________________________
d. Contains the least vitamin C? _____________________________________________
e. Based on the result in part D, what happen to the amount of amount of vitamin C in
canned foods?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
f. If you wanted to increase the amount of vitamin C in your diet, should you eat more
canned or raw food? Why and why not?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
VI. CONCLUSION

As an indication, a blue chemical known as 2, 6-dichlorophenolindophenol (or

DCPIP for short) is used. The quantity of vitamin C in it changes according on the juices
that are fed to it. The test results demonstrate that the higher the concentration of vitamins
C, the clearer the dichlorophenolindophenol. The higher the concentration of vitamin C,
the cleaner the liquid. The deeper the color, the lower the concentration of vitamin C.