Concentration Of Vitamin C In Orange Juice Experiment
Vitamin C is an essential nutrient that plays a vital role in maintaining a healthy immune system. It is responsible for protecting the body from free radicals, which can cause cell damage and lead to chronic diseases. Oranges are a good source of vitamin C, and many people prefer consuming orange juice to meet their daily requirement of this nutrient. However, the concentration of vitamin C in orange juice can vary depending on various factors, including the type of orange, processing, and storage. In this article, we will discuss an experiment that helps determine the concentration of vitamin C in orange juice.
Materials Required
The materials required to conduct the experiment include:
- Fresh oranges
- Juicer
- Distilled water
- Beakers
- Stirrer
- Iodine solution
- Starch solution
- Pipettes
- Burette
Procedure
The following steps should be followed to determine the concentration of vitamin C in orange juice:
- Extract the juice from fresh oranges using a juicer.
- Measure 5 ml of orange juice and dilute it with 50 ml of distilled water in a beaker.
- Add 1 ml of starch solution and mix well.
- Fill a burette with iodine solution.
- Add the iodine solution dropwise to the beaker containing the diluted orange juice while constantly stirring.
- Continue adding the iodine solution until the color of the mixture changes from white to blue-black.
- Note down the volume of iodine solution used for the reaction.
- Repeat the experiment with different concentrations of orange juice by varying the amount of orange juice and keeping the volume of distilled water constant.
Calculations
The concentration of vitamin C in orange juice can be calculated using the following formula:
Vitamin C concentration (mg/ml) = (V1 - V2) x M x 1000 / V3
- V1 = volume of iodine solution used for the reaction
- V2 = volume of iodine solution used for the blank test (without orange juice)
- M = molarity of iodine solution
- V3 = volume of diluted orange juice used in the reaction
Conclusion
The concentration of vitamin C in orange juice can be determined using the above experiment. The experiment helps in evaluating the quality of orange juice and determining the appropriate storage conditions to retain maximum vitamin C content. Adequate vitamin C intake is crucial for maintaining good health and preventing chronic diseases. Therefore, it is essential to consume fresh orange juice or oranges regularly to meet the daily requirement of vitamin C.