Effect of Water Contamination on the Preservation of Vitamins in Juices

Abstract

Introduction. Whey drinks, fruit nectars, and reconstituted juices are usually based on domestic water. This water may contain various contaminants, which can interact with vitamins in fruit drinks. The research objective was to study the impact of trichloromethane, hydroxybenzene, chlorophenol, trichloroethylene, and ethylene chloride on the state of vitamins in juice products. Study objects and methods. The study featured aqueous fruit and berry concentrates, used in fruit nectar production. The control sample contained water without contaminants, while the test samples involved trichloromethane, trichloroethylene, ethylene chloride, hydroxybenzene, and chlorophenol. Capillary zone electrophoresis made it possible to determine bioactive substances (vitamins) in aqueous fruit and berry concentrates. Molecular absorption spectroscopy in visible spectrum was used to check the color intensity. Gas chromatography helped to analyze the content of contaminants. Results and discussion. The experiment tested vitamin preservation in fruit nectars based on water contaminated with trichloromethane, trichloroethylene, ethylene chloride, hydroxybenzene, and chlorophenol. Trichloromethane did not react with bioactive substances. Trichloroethylene, ethylene chloride, hydroxybenzene, and chlorophenol lowered the content of ascorbic acid, carotene, thiamine, riboflavin, choline, and pyridoxine. Depending on the organic matter, water contamination led to a decrease in carotene by 7–35%, vitamin B1 – by 10–100%, B2 – by 11–100%, B4 – by 8–45%, and B6 – by 8–100 in the finished product. The paper introduces a theoretic substantiation of the interaction between the contaminants and the bioactive substances. Conclusion. Water, contaminated with such organic substances as hydroxybenzene, chlorophenol, trichloroethylene, and ethylene chloride, proved to affect the vitamin preservation in juices, which was illustrated by chemical equations. Therefore, juice production requires preliminary water purification because toxic and cancerogenic substances can decrease the quality and food safety of the finished product.