Vitamin C Content in Fruit Juices

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Aim: To investigate the vitamin C content of fruit juice.

Introduction

In this experiment I will be finding out which fruit juice contains the most vitamin C. I will be using a method similar to titration but I will be using a syringe instead of a burette.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C also known as ascorbic acid is needed for growth and maintenance of healthy tissues, especially skin, blood vessels, bones, gums, teeth. Vitamin C aids in resistance against infection and healing of wounds. It also helps the body absorb iron from food. Vitamin C can be found in green vegetables, potatoes, tomatoes and citrus fruits such as oranges and lemon. A lack of vitamin C can cause scurvy, iron deficiency and poor wound healing. A healthy diet should include a high amount of vitamin C because the human body cannot produce its own vitamin C.

DCPIP

Dichlorophenolindolphenol or DCPIP is a blue substance which acts as an indicator. It changes from blue to red with acids but loses its colour in the presence of certain chemicals, one of which is vitamin C. DCPIP solution can be used to test for the presence of vitamin C in foods.

Hypothesis

Orange juice will have the highest content of vitamin C. Citrus fruits have a higher content of vitamin C. The orange and lemon juice will contain more vitamin C than the pineapple juice. Furthermore, as lemons are more acidic than oranges I predict that the orange juice will contain more vitamin C than the lemon juice. Vitamin C affects, the ph the more vitamin C the higher the ph.

Variables

Independent Variables

• Different fruit juices (Pineapple, orange and lemon).

Dependent Variables

• Amount of vitamin C in fruit juices.

Controlled Variable

• Same amount of liquid for ...

... middle of paper ...

... were variables that were controlled, there was another variable which I did not identify until after our investigations were done. Vitamin C is easily oxidized so when the juices were left out some of the vitamin C in them might have oxidized.

Overall I think I carried out the experiment in a precise way and I took my time trying to make all my measurements as accurate as possible so that my data is reliable. Next time I will do more tests instead of just 3 so I have more results and so I could get a more accurate average. I will also do the experiment with more fruit juices to see if there are other fruits with a higher content of vitamin C. I will do an experiment to see if there is a difference in Vitamin C levels between fresh juice and store bought juice. I can also test different brands of juice to see if they have different levels of vitamin C.

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