Vitamin C Assay

Measuring Vitamin C using

starch-iodine test
We will measure the amount of vitamin C in many different
types of foods. The chemical reaction we will use to measure
the amount of vitamin C uses one of its functions in the body.
Vitamin C involves in our cells oxidation-reduction reactions.
Vitamin C can react with iodine. Therefore we will measure the
amount of vitamin C by adding iodine to our food extracts
until the vitamin C can bind no more iodine.
Iodine in excess of the vitamin C will react with a starch
solution you will add to the extract to produce a bluish-black
color. The addition of a chemical to measure another chemical
is called a titration.

Materials
1. Food sources of vitamin C: for example juices, extraction of plants,
flowers, fruits, grains, and vegetables, vitamin C tablet or
cooked/treated food sample (boiled/refrigerated/grilled)
2. Starch solution (1%): Mix 1 g starch in 100 ml boiling H 2O. Boil for one
minute while stirring. Stir until completely dissolved (this solution will be
cloudy).
3. Iodine solution: Mix 0.6 g potassium iodide in 500 ml H 2O. Mix 0.6 g
iodine in 50 ml of ethyl alcohol. These two iodine solutions should be
mixed well before combining. Combine the two iodine solutions and add
an additional 450 ml of H2O.
4. Hydrochloric Acid (HCl) 1 M, (5 ml)
5. Blender
6. Filter/ cheesecloth

[WARNING: HAZARDOUS]

Procedure:
Preparing the vitamin C extracts:

1. Chop food material into small pieces and

place into blender.
2. Add 100 ml of distilled water to the
blender.
3. Blend using the highest speed until the
material is thoroughly ground.
4. Strain the ground extract
5. Measure 30 ml of the strained extract
into a 250 ml Erlenmeyer flask or beaker.

Procedure:
Measuring vitamin C in the food sample:

1. Place 30 mL of the food extracts solution in

a 250 ml flask or beaker.
2. Add 2 drops of the 0.1 M HCl to the flask.
3. Add 5 ml of the starch solution to the flask.
4. Fill a burette with the iodine solution.
5. Record the initial volume reading.
6. Add the iodine solution in 1 ml increments
to the flask while swirling the flask.
7. Add iodine until the solution stays blueblack or greyish for 15 seconds.
8. Record the volume reading on the burette.

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Comparing Vitamin C in different

food treatments

Does the way you prepare your food affect the vitamin C available
to be ingested? Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin. Would cooking
food by boiling in water affect the vitamin C content? If vitamin C is
lost during the cooking process, where does it go? What types of
experiments could you design to test your hypothesis?
You will be testing your hypothesis to determine if vitamin C content
is changed during cooking or if different ways of food preparation
yield different amounts of vitamin C.
Food can be prepared according to your creativity. For example, you
can boil or steam or place in a freezer. You can also prepare the
food by different exposing time to heat etc.
Chop food material into small pieces and place into blender.
Obtain your data using the same method in previous section.
Record the volume reading on the burette.
Compare the relative amounts of ascorbic acid present in the
samples you are testing.
Compare your results with those of other members of the class.
What do the results show?

Lab Reflection
Write an article to share your results
The body of the article should contain:
Introduction of Vitamin C
Methods you used and the concept of it
Your findings and the reasons
Conclude your ideas.

Post that in your Weebly

Reminder:
DO NOT copy paste from any website. Use
your own words. Believe in your idea.