Comparative Analysis Of Vitamin C. Content (ascorbic Acid) In Pineapple And Banana

1.0 INTRODUCTION

A fruit is the dibble part of a plant that develops from flower. Many of the fruits grown in the fruits has grown in the wild for thousands of years. When people began to eat them as food they simply gathered the wild fruits and vegetables then about 11,000 years ago people began to plant fruit and vegetables to form the plants and to care for them. The formers experimented and grew new kinds of the wild fruits and vegetables (Huitray, 2000).

Fruits and vegetables found growing in one part of the world were taken by explorers and the fruits and vegetables were then planted and grown in many countries around the world. For example, it is believed that Christopher Columbus took pineapples to Spain from South America in the 1400s. In china apricots were grown 400s years ago and peaches over 2000 years ago. The AvacodoisNaure to South America. It is not known for certain in where the lemon originated but India, Burma and Southern China are the most likely places. Pears grow wild in Britain is one country where olives first grow pineapples and nature to Brazil. Orange ones were grown in Holland and sold to other countries in the 1600s and were grown in Holland and sold to other countries in the 1600s and 1700s Ojokh-et al. (2005).

Fruits can be utilized in many ways and as such, have variedly of uses raging from food uses, medical and industrial uses. Fruits are generally known to belong to a class of foods that supply sugar mineral salts and vitamins (especially vitamin c and B complex vitamins (Aletor, 1993). Vitamins c is the simple sugar found in living tissues. It highest concentrations being in the adrenal cortex ad the eye. Stress and corticotrophin lead to a loss of vitamin c from the ordinal cortex. Fresh fruits and vegetables particularly black currents, citrus fruits barriers and been vegetable and the richest dietary sources or it may be synthetically prepared.

Ascorbic acid, otherwise known as Vitamin C is an essential nutrient. It is a water-soluble vitamin whose dietary sources include fruits and vegetables. Humans are unable to synthesize vitamin C endogenously, and as such, it is consumed as essential dietary component (Li Y and Schellhorn, 2007). L-Ascorbic acid is the main biologically active form of vitamin C. It is a valuable food component because of its antioxidant and therapeutic properties (Okiei et al., 2009). As a potent antioxidant, it has the capacity to eliminate several different free radicals (Davey et. al., 2000). It also has important biological and metabolic functions, particularly with respect to its role in the biosynthesis of connective tissue (Jacques, 1992). Mega doses of vitamin C is used in the treatment and prevention of large number of disorders like diabetes, cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, atherosclerosis, stroke, heart diseases and cancer (Iqbal et. al., 2004). 

Vitamin C also functions in collagen formation, absorption of inorganic iron, reduction of plasma cholesterol level, inhibition of nitrosamine formation, enhancement of the immune system, and reaction with singlet oxygen and other free radicals (Rekha et. al., 2012). Vitamin C deficiency is known to cause scurvy in humans (Holley et. al., 2011). The symptoms of scurvy include fatigue or lassitude, widespread connective tissue weakness, and capillary fragility (Sani et. al., 2015) Scurvy can be prevented with as little as 10 mg vitamin C per day, an amount easily obtained through consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. A layman generally believes that the best sources of vitamin C are citrus fruits and their juices. However, there exists a large number of tropical fruits and vegetables that contain vitamin C. For better utilization of fruits and vegetables as a human food, clear understanding of their nutrition value as well as the content of vitamin C estimation is essential ( Rahman et al., 2005). The study was thus undertaken to ascertain the preferred method to estimate the levels of Vitamin C in some selected fruits.

1.1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The fruits are not owned by a particular individual, they could be collected freely and consumed by the populace to increase nutrient intake. Despite the abundance of these fruits, there is still problem of vitamin c deficiency in Nigeria. There this project tries to know the comparative analysis of vitamin c. content (ascorbic acid) in pineapple and banana. The fruits and could be integrated in the food-based approach for fighting vitamin c deficiency in Nigeria.

1.2 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This project work deals with the comparative analysis of vitamin C contents in fruits (pineapple and banana). This project will focus on how and what types of fruits have the highest vitamin c contents.

1.3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

These project or research is aimed at the following:

- To know the content of vitamin c in two selected fruits.

- To know the quantity of ascorbic acid to be absorb by human being.

- To also know the deficiencies accrue to excess or below intake of ascorbic acid more so to know the normal range required.

- To know the source require to get ascorbic acid.

1.4 JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY

In the modern society many people doesn’t know the important and content of ascorbic acid in fruits. This project will expatiate more on the important and the determination of ascorbic acid or required by the body.