Chemistry

Investigatory project

Determination of Vitamin C in Various

Colours of Bell Pepper

Submitted by:
B. Akshay Aravindhan
XII
Kendriya Vidyalaya No.2
Pondicherry

Guided by:
Mrs. Janahi Vijayakumar
PGT Chemistry
Kendriya Vidyalaya No.2
Pondicherry
 INDEX

Sr.no. Title Pg.no.

1. Certificate 1
2. Acknowledgement 2
3. Introduction 3
4. (i) Aim
(ii) Apparatus required 5
(iii) Chemicals required
5. Theory Involved 6
6. Procedure 7
7. Chemical Reactions Involved 9
8. Pigments prepared 10
9. Conclusion 12
10. References 12
 Certificate

This is to certify that B. Akshay Aravindhan of class XII

has successfully completed his Chemistry Investigatory

Project on the topic “Determination of Vitamin C in

Various Colours of Bell Pepper” during the academic

session 2023-24, as per the guidelines issued by the

Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).

This project is absolutely genuine and does not indulge

in plagiarism of any kind. The references taken in

making this project have been mentioned at the end of

this project.

Internal Examiner External Examiner

Principal

Acknowledgement
 It would be my utmost pleasure to express my

sincere thanks to my Chemistry teacher,

Mrs. Janahi Vijayakumar for providing a helping

hand in making this project. Her valuable

guidance, support and supervision all through

this project is responsible for attaining its

present form.

I would also like to extend my gratitude to the

Incharge Principal, Ms. Uma Maheswari, for

providing me with all the facilities that was

required.

Finally I would like to thank my parents for

extending invariable moral and material support.

Introduction
India is one tropical country that has a wealth of
vegetables and fruits. Bell pepper is one of the many
vegetable commodities cultivated in India. Bell pepper
comes from Central and South America where many
varieties of bell pepper have been cultivated. Bell pepper
contains nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, fats,
minerals (potassium, calcium, phosphorus, and iron), and
vitamins (vitamin A, vitamin B, and vitamin C). Vitamin C
is also known as ascorbic acid that can be found in nature
almost in all plants, especially fresh vegetables, and fresh
fruits, so called fresh food vitamins.

Vitamin C is known as an important compound in the

body, which helps is many processes such as collagen
production, fat carrier, cholesterol regulator, and immune
boosters. Bell pepper is one of the vegetables rich in
vitamin C. Vitamin C different levels may be due to
varieties, growth conditions (temperature, soil, fertilizer),
harvesting, post-harvest (storage, and processing) and
maturity stages.

There are several methods in determining vitamin C levels, namely:

1) Iodimetry titration method
2) 2, 6- dichloroindophenol titration method
3) Voltammetry method
4) Spectrophotometer method
5) Chromatography method
Spectrophotometric methods and chromatographic
methods require an instrument for the measurement of
vitamin C. The simplest and fastest method for vitamin C
analysis is the titration method which can also give similar
analytical results to spectrophotometric method and
chromatography. The iodimetry titration method uses an
iodine solution as the standard solution and not effective
for measuring vitamin C levels in foodstuffs, because iodine
not selective to vitamin C and oxidize all reducing agents
besides of vitamin C. The 2, 6- dichloroindophenol
titration method use 2, 6- dichloroindophenol solution as
the standard solution and most widely used for
determining vitamin C levels in foodstuffs, because 2, 6-
dichloroindophenol selective to vitamin C (only oxidize
vitamin C) and not oxidize others reducing agents .

The different maturity stages will affect the vitamin C

content contained in fruits and vegetables. Bell pepper has
a different color according to the stages of maturity,
ranging from green, yellow, orange, and red (green
indicates immature, yellow and orange indicate half
mature, and red indicates mature).

Aim:
To determine the vitamin C levels in various

colors of bell pepper, depending on the maturity

stages of bell pepper.

Apparatus required:
Analytical balance, Blender, Volume pipette,
Measuring pipette, Burette, Burette stand,
Beaker, Volumetric flask, Measuring glass,
Dropping pipette, Funnel.

Chemicals required:
2,6-dichloroindophenol, Methanol,
Metaphosphoric acid, Sodium bicarbonate,
Vitamin C

Theory involved
Determination of vitamin C in various
colors of bell pepper grown in India by 2,
6- dichloroindophenol titration method.
The reaction between vitamin C with 2, 6-
dichloroindophenol can be seen below
2,6-Dichloroindophenol (Reduced) (Oxidized)
(Base Condition - Blue) + Ascorbic → 2,6-Dichloroindophenol + Ascorbic
(Acid Condition - Pink) Acid (Colorless) Acid

The method of determining vitamin C levels

used in this study was done by the titration
method using 2, 6- dichloroindophenol as
the standard solution and metaphosphoric
acid as the vitamin C oxidizing inhibitor.
The objectives of this research are to know
the difference of vitamin C levels contains in
green bell pepper, yellow bell pepper,
orange bell pepper, and red bell pepper.

Procedure
Preparation of Sodium Bicarbonate Solution
0.84% (m/v)
0.84 g of sodium bicarbonate was weighed, put into a 100 mL
volumetric flask, added 50 mL of distilled water, shaken until dissolved,
added distilled water to the 100 mL marking line, and homogenized the
mixture.

Preparation of Metaphosphoric Acid Solution 3%

(m/v)
3 g of metaphosphoric acid was weighed, put into a 100 mL volumetric
flask, added 50 mL of distilled water, shaken until dissolved, added
distilled water to the 100 mL marking line, and homogenized the
mixture.

Preparation of 2,6-Dichloroindophenol Solution

0.025% (m/v)
25 mg 2,6-dichloroindophenol was weighed, put into a 100 mL
volumetric flask, added 25 mL of sodium bicarbonate solution 0.84%
(m/v), shaken until dissolved, added distilled water to the 100 mL
marking line, and homogenized the mixture.

Determination of Equality of Vitamin C to 2,6-

Dichloroindophenol Solution
50 mg of vitamin C was weighed, put into a 100 mL volumetric flask,
added 50 mL of metaphosphoric acid solution, shaken until dissolved,
added the metaphosphoric acid solution to the marking line, and
homogenized the mixture. 10 mL of vitamin C solution was pipetted, put
into erlenmeyer, added 5 mL metaphosphoric acid solution, titrated with
the 2,6-dichloroindophenol solution until the steady pink color. The
equality was calculated by the formula:

VA x W P
VC x VC
E = __________________
 VVF X (VVCT – VBT)

E = equality (mg/mL)
V = volume of aliquot (mL)
A
W = weight of vitamin C (mg)
VC
P = purity of vitamin C (%)
VC
V = volume of volumetric flask (mL)
VF
V = volume of vitamin C titration (mL)
VCT
V = volume of blank titration (mL)
BT

WVC VVCT VBT E

(mg) (mL) (mL) (mg/mL)
1 50.1 37.15 0.05 0.1350
2 50.6 37.51 0.05 0.1350
Average 50.4 37.33 0.05 0.1350

Determination of Vitamin C Levels in Bell Pepper

Samples consisting of green bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, and red bell
pepper were washed, carefully weighed 200 g of each sample, and
blended until smooth. 20 g of blended sample was weighed, put into a
100 mL volumetric flask, added 50 mL of metaphosphoric acid solution,
mixed well, and added the metaphosphoric acid solution to the marking
line, and homogenized the mixture. 10 mL of sample mixture was
pipetted, put into erlenmeyer, added 5 mL metaphosphoric acid
solution, titrated with the 2, 6-dichloroindophenol solution until the
steady pink color. Vitamin C levels were calculated by the formula:

(VST-VBT) x E x VVF x 100

L= ___________________________
VA x W S
L = levels of vitamin C (mg/100 g)
V = volume of sample titration (mL)
ST
V = volume of blank titration (mL)
BT
E = equality (mg/mL)
V = volume of volumetric flask (mL)
VF
V = volume of aliquot (mL)
A
W = weight of sample (g)
S

Vitamin C levels in various colours of bell pepper

(mg/100g)
Green bell pepper Yellow bell pepper Red bell pepper
CONCLUSION
Vitamin C levels in various colors of bell pepper can be determined by the
titration method with metaphosphoric acid as the vitamin C oxidizing
inhibitor and 2, 6-dichloroindophenol as the standard solution. The
highest level of vitamin C is found in yellow bell pepper. The lowest level
of vitamin C is found in the green bell pepper.

Levels of vitamin C contained in Green bell pepper=16.52 mg vitamin C

per 100 g

Levels of vitamin C contained in Yellow bell pepper=159.61 mg vitamin

C per 100 g

Levels of vitamin C contained in Red bell pepper=81.19 mg vitamin C

per 100 g

Different colors of bell pepper have significantly different vitamin C

content.

Colour of the Levels of vitamin C contained

bell pepper
Green bell pepper 16.52 mg vitamin C per 100 g
Yellow bell pepper 159.61 mg vitamin C per 100 g
Red bell pepper 81.19 mg vitamin C per 100 g

References
Following books and websites were a source of
my project:
 Internet
(i) www.wikipedia.org
(ii) www.nzic.org.nz
(iii) www.chemdemos.uoregon.edu
(iv) www.projects.icbse.com