Abstract
The boron supply in the culture medium largely affects the ascorbic acid content of vegetable plants. There are two phases of the condition determining the amount of the acid in these biosynthesis and decomposition. The reaction between borate and polyhydroxy compounds, having been long used in carbohydrate chemistry and analytical chemistry, was supposed to be applied for the inhibition of the oxidation of vitamin C and its related compounds.
Some experiments ware conducted to prove the above mentioned reaction, and the effectiveness of borate for the prevention of dehydroascorbic acid oxidation was proved.
Dehydroascordic acid and 2, 3 diketo-L-gulonic acid, at pH7.4, were almost completely protected by borate against oxidation. This protection apparently depends upon a combination between the borate and the acids.
Borate could not inhibit the oxidation reaction of L-ascorbic acid.
