Comparative Analysis of Vitamin C in Two Varieties of Pineapple (Honey Queen And Brazza) to Maximize Nutritional Benefits

OBJECTIVES: The work was carried out to compare the quantity of vitamin C in two commonly consumed species of pineapple in Nigeria; Honey Queen Pineapple (indigenous) and Brazza imported from Republic of Benin. This is expedient because complaints of gastro-intestinal tract problems often emerge after consumption of Brazza specie. METHODS: Seven of both species were cleaned, peeled, flesh separated from hard core making seven flesh portions, seven hard core each. All flesh portions of each specie were blended separately into paste as well as the core. Four portions were the end result Brazza Pineapple Core (BRPC); Brazza Pineapple Flesh (BRPF); Honey Queen Pineapple Core (HQPC) and Honey Queen Pineapple Flesh (HQPF). Standard solutions of ascorbic acid was prepared by weighing 0.5g of standard ascorbic acid and dissolved in 10ml of 0.1 molar phosphoric acid solution to obtain a concentration. Hundred millimeters of each sample was poured in sterile tubes and centrifuged at 6000rpm for five minutes, poured into sterile sample bottles and filtered with muslin cloth to have clearer sample and stored in sterile sample bottles. 20ml of each prepared fruit juice samples solution was injected into the HPLC machine in triplicates. The flow rate was 0.8ml/min. The ascorbic acid was detected at 245nm using Agilent Variable Wavelength Detector. Linear curve was done by plotting concentration versus average detector response. RESULTS: The quantity of vitamin C in each sample was estimated from the standard curve calibration from the HPLC using the formular- Quantity = Curve Area-324.26 34.79. Vitamin C content in BRPC was 2.8ug/ml; BRPF 16ug/ml; HQPC 1.10ug/ml and HQPF 1.17ug/ml. Vitamin C concentration was derived by multiplying these results by 50. Amount of vitamin C per gram was 126.75 ug/g; 726.61 ug/g; 76.96 ug/g and 53.13 ug/g respectively. CONCLUSIONS: It has been proven that the Brazza specie from the neighbouring country contains more than 10 times higher than the Nigeria local specie. Nutritionist/dietitian advice should be sought before individuals who react negatively to high doses of vitamin C consume Brazza pineapple specie. FUNDING SOURCES: It is a self funded project.