The partition of ascorbic and dehydroascorbic acid in vitamin C-containing Guatemalan foods

Abstract 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.