Determination of Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) Content in Sprouted Brown African Yam Beans (Sphenostylis stenocarpa)

Omenna, E. C.^1* & Amadife, A. E.²

¹Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ibadan, Nigeria
²Enugu State University of Science and Technology, (ESUTECH), Enugu, Nigeria

Dr. Omenna, E. C., Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ibadan, Nigeria.

Keywords: Vitamin C; African Yam Bean; Sprouting

Abstract

Vitamin C is an essential welfare food in human diet, most species of animals including human beings cannot synthesis their own vitamin C from other hexose sugars. And consequently, an experiment was conducted to evaluate the impact of sprouting on the vitamin C (ascorbic acid) content of African yam bean. The ascorbic acid content of brown African yam bean sprouts were determined by titrimetric method in which the acidified aqueous extract was titrated against 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol. The ascorbic acid content determined daily during sprouting for five consecutive days were:13.2mg/100g,15.4mg/100g, 17.6mg/100g, 20.00mg/100g and 22.00mg/100g respectively. The results showed that the highest amount of ascorbic acid was obtained on the fifth day of sprouting while the lowest amount of ascorbic acid was obtained on the first day of sprouting. It was also observed that the ascorbic acid level was increasing as the sprouting period lasts. From the results, it can be inferred that sprouting enhances the vitamin C (ascorbic acid) content of this bean, as there was an exponential increase in the vitamin C content with number of days of sprouting. Sprouts proffer the safest nutritional advantage of both vegetables and fruits without contamination. In conclusion, sprouting is an inexpensive method of obtaining high amount of vitamin C in seeds.

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