Vitamin C in citrus fruit

Citrus fruits such as lemons, sweet orange, mandarin or tangerine contain vitamin C which prevents the deficiency disease scurvy.

Citrus fruits and juices are excellent sources of vitamin C containing more than the minimum daily requirements of 60 mg of vitamin C in 240 ml of juice.

There is considerable variation in the vitamin C content of juices of different citrus fruits. Grape fruit, tangerine and lemon generally contain between 20 and 50 mg.100 mL juice.

Vitamin C is an important antioxidant, which increase the protective antioxidant layer, glutathione concentration around the cells. Vitamin C also critical for production of collagen. Greater acidity or sour taste is a clear indicator for greater amount of vitamin C existence in citrus fruits.

Freshly squeezed juice usually has the highest vitamin C content, followed by juice made from frozen concentrate.

Unopened canned and bottled juices are next best: stored at room temperature, they retain more than 75 percent of their vitamin C for a year or longer.
Vitamin C in citrus fruit