Biochemical Assessment of some common Commercial Fruit Juice Consumed in Maiduguri Metropolis, Nigeria

Abstract

Biochemical assessment was carried out on six different samples of fruit juice labeled A, B, C, D,E, F commonly consumed within University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID),and Maiduguri Metropolis. Malondialdehyde, Malonaldehyde and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) assay which are evidence for lipid peroxidation (deterioration) as well as concentration of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in the fruit juice samples were determined spectrophotometrically using spectrum Lab 22 model spectrophotometer. Results were analyzed statistically using T-test statistic at p<0.05 level of significance. Samples F had the highest values of 2.515 mg/ml ± 0.15  and 2.867 mg/ml ± 0.15  and 2.116 mg/ml ± 0.10 respectively, among all the samples analyzed for malondialdehyde, malonaldehyde and TBRS concentrations (p<0.05). The above values correlated with the concentration of 3.47 mg/ml ± 0.08 of vitamin C in sample F which was the lowest among all the samples. This suggests that the juice sample labeled F, which is locally produced, showed higher level of deterioration than other samples (samples A to E).

Key words: Deterioration, Malondialdehyde, Malonaldehyde, Peroxidation