THE PARTITION OF ASCORBIC AND DEHYDROASCORBIC ACID IN VITAMIN-C-CONTAINING GUATEMALAN FOODS

The total vitamin C content, and its partition between L-ascorbic acid (L-AA) and L-dehydroascorbic acid (L-DHAA) was determined by a previously described robotic analytical procedure in nine Guatemalan fruits and vegetables prepared as customarily consumed. Total vitamin C levels agreed substantially with analyses performed over 25 years ago, but the L-AA/L-DHAA partition varied considerably from oranges and chayote, which had exclusively L-AA, to banana and tomato, which had predominantly L-DHAA. The chemical form of vitamin C may have implications for cataractogenesis, nitrosamine-related carcinogenesis, and iron absorption.