Food Science
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I am doing my A2 chemistry investigation on concentrations of Vitamin C in peppers of different colours, but in my background research I am struggling to find any information on the function of Vitamin C in peppers and why it is in the peppers in the first place. Do you have any ideas?
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Corrie writes....
Vitamin C is of course found in many vegetables and fruits. The detailed nature of its role in plants is getting into biological areas that are rather beyond Re:act's brief I'm afraid. What one can say is that Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is reversibly oxidised by many oxidants and tissues, particularly those of plants, to dehydroascorbic acid. This reaction is catalysed by the enzyme ascorbic acid oxidase, a copper based protein. I presume you have seen these structures in a textbook, but if not you'll find them in the answer to a previous question to Re:act. You can find this in a our recent list of Sorted FAQs on Vitamin C Investigations - Q.5 in the first section. You can locate the sorted list by following the 'Practical Investigations' link on the Re:act Homepage. You might also find some other past questions & answers there that could be useful to you in your investigation!
Similarly, in humans and other primates where vitamin C is a dietary essential, it seems to be involved in a variety of biological oxidation processes. However, it appears that no oxidation system has yet been found which is specific to ascorbic acid only.
Risk assessment
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updated: 21 February 2008
