Comparison of Vitamin 'C' levels in naturally ripened and artificially ripened mangoes

INTRODUCTION: Fruits are very good sources of micronutrients. In the present era, eating fruits is questionable due to hazardous effects of artificial ripener usage on fruits. Ascorbic acid (C6H8O6), a major antioxidant water-soluble vitamin, acts as a reducing agent for many metabolic reactions as a coenzyme. Since it is heat-labile, fruits remain as a prime source as they are eaten uncooked. Mangoes, Banana, and Papaya are the most commonly subjected fruits for artificial ripening. However, artificial ripeners such as ethephon and calcium carbide have antinutritional and hazardous effects on health. This study analyzed the effect of the second most commonly used artificial ripener ethephon on mangoes in comparing with naturally ripened mangoes. STUDY PURPOSE: To fulfill the increasing fruit demand and for commercialization fastening of fruit ripening is done. The aim of the present study is to assess whether artificial ripening will affect the Vitamin “C” level in mangoes or no. OBJECTIVES: Compare the Vitamin C levels in artificially ripened with naturally ripened mangoes. METHODS: Vitamin C was analyzed using simple UV spectrophotometric method using 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine reagent. RESULTS: The results of the present study showed that the naturally ripened mangoes had a mean of 7.6 ± 6 mg/100 g more of Vitamin “C” than artificially ripened mangoes. CONCLUSION: The Study concludes that the Vitamin C contents is more in naturally ripened mangoes than the artificially ripened mangoes with using 1000 ppm of ehtephon.