Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 12, 2026

Improved UPLC-UV Method for the Quantification of Vitamin C in Lettuce Varieties (Lactuca sativa L.) and Crop Wild Relatives (Lactuca spp.)
Published on: June 30, 2020
Characterization of NIST food-matrix Standard Reference Materials for their vitamin C content
Jeanice B Thomas1, James H Yen, Katherine E Sharpless
1Chemical Sciences Division, Material Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8392, USA. jbthomas@nist.gov
Abstract:
The vitamin C concentrations in three food-matrix Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have been determined by liquid chromatography (LC) with absorbance detection. These materials (SRM 1549a Whole Milk Powder, SRM 1849a Infant/Adult Nutritional Formula, and SRM 3233 Fortified Breakfast Cereal) have been characterized to support analytical measurements made by food processors that are required to provide information about their products' vitamin C content on the labels of products distributed in the United States. The SRMs are primarily intended for use in validating analytical methods for the determination of selected vitamins, elements, fatty acids, and other nutrients in these materials and in similar matrixes. They can also be used for quality assurance in the characterization of test samples or in-house control materials, and for establishing measurement traceability. Within-day precision of the LC method used to measure vitamin C in the food-matrix SRMs characterized in this study ranged from 2.7% to 6.5%.
Related Concept Videos
Complexometric Titration: Overview
NMR and Mass Spectroscopy of Carboxylic Acids
While α protons of carboxylic acids absorb at 2–2.5 ppm, β protons absorb further upfield.
Carboxylic acids are easily identified by dissolving them in deuterium oxide, which results in a rapid exchange of the acidic protons with deuterium. This leads to the disappearance of the acidic...
Role of Skin in Vitamin D Synthesis
The solar UV B rays (290-315 nm) are absorbed by the skin, and 7-dehydrocholesterol (provitamin D3) photolyzes it to previtamin D3, which undergoes a rapid transformation to vitamin D3(cholecalciferol).
Titrimetric Methods: Types and Commonly Used Strategies