Abstract
Stabilization of ascorbic acid solution by phytic acid in the presence of divalent metallic ions was studied. After heat treatment (at 85℃ for 10 minutes) of neutral solution of ascorbic acid containing phytic acid, 71.3,71.3 and 63.3% of the vitamin was remained in the presence of Fe^<2+>, Mn^<2+> and Cu^<2+>, respectively, however without phytic acid 45.7,48.0 and 29.7% was remained, respectively. These results show that oxidation of ascorbic acid is markedly inhibited by the addition of phytic acid. The effect of phytic acid was also observed by incubation at 40℃ for 24 hours in the presence of Fe^<2+> at neutral pH, but phytic acid had no effect at a pH range of commercial soft drinks (pH 2.0〜4.0). The amount of phytic acid required for stabilization of ascorbic acid depends on the content of coexisting metallic ions and at the maximum content of the metallic ions provided in the law of city water, about 0.5% of phytic acid is necessary for preventing degradation of ascorbic acid.
