CHEM 1AL Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Redox Titration, Dietary Reference Intake, Turnip
26 Mar 2016
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In this experiment, you will employ a redox titration method to determine the percentage of vitamin c in commercial tablets, and in an unknown sample. The history of vitamin c (ascorbic acid) is the history of the human disease scurvy, probably the first human illness to be recognized as a deficiency disease. Its symptoms include exhaustion, massive hemorrhaging of flesh and gums, general weakness and diarrhea. Scurvy is a disease unique to guinea pigs, various primates and humans. All other animal species have an enzyme that catalyzes the oxidation of l-gluconactone to l-ascorbic acid, allowing them to synthesize vitamin. Figure 1: structure of l-ascorbic acid (vitamin c). As early as 1536, jacques cartier, a french explorer, reported the miraculous curative effects of infusions of pine bark and needles used by native americans. These items are now known to be good sources of ascorbic acid. However, some 400 years were to pass before vitamin c was isolated, characterized, and synthesized.
