COMPARISON OF VITAMIN C CONTENT IN FRESH AND PACKED JUICES OF ORANGE AND MANGO

Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble antioxidant vitamin having important nutritional and health benefits. Adequate consumption of fruits, vegetables and their juices with high vitamin C content and antioxidant capacity result in improved health, reduced risk of chronic diseases, optimal nutrition and general well-being. Thus, it is essential that vitamin C content in food items, intended to provide its supplement, is determined and its amount stated on labels of packages. The objective of the present study was to determine and compare the vitamin C content of fresh and commercial juices made from mango and orange. Fruits and packed juices were purchased from the local market of Mekelle city, Ethiopia. Iodine titration method was employed to determine the vitamin C content of test sample juices. Results showed that the amount of vitamin C was more in fresh juice than the corresponding packed juice in both mango and orange. For the fresh juices, the amount of vitamin C was more in orange than in mango while for the packed juices the amount in mango was more than in orange; although the manufacturing dates and hence storage times of both packed juices were similar. Therefore, it was concluded that in case of mango juices, both fresh and packed may be considered as vitamin C supplements whereas in case of orange juices, the fresh one is far more preferred to the packed one because the packed one may not be sufficient source of vitamin C, especially if supplied in liquid packed form.