DETERMINATION OF VITAMIN C IN SOME BOSNIAN CRATAEGUS L. SPECIES BY SPETROPHOTOMETRIC METHOD
UDK 577.164.2:582.711.714 535.234:577.164.2 Vitamin C or ascorbic acid content has been determined by spectrophotometric method in fruits of some Bosnian hawthorns (Crataegus L). species. Spectrophotometric method used in this study is based on the kinetic reaction between Vitamin C and methylene blue. Measurements were carried out at absorption maximum, λmax= 665 nm. Titrimetric method was used as the reference method for comparison of the obtained results. We found that the lowest content of vitamin C was 106.12 mg/100 g of a dry sample in fruits of the C. monogyna, and the highest level of Vitamin C was found in the C. microphylla (231.96 mg/100 g of a dry sample) fruits. Recoveries of the results obtained by the spectrophotometric method were 101.4% - 108.0% with relative standard deviation (RSD) values ranging between 0.40% - 3.37%. Obtained results showed that fruits of studied Crataegus L. species are a good source of vitamin C with its potential to be used in food industry as the natural antioxidant.