Synergistic, additive or antagonistic effects evaluation for vitamin C content of mixtures of fruits and vegetables

Fruits and vegetables are considered healthy foods because they are a good source of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. These groups of foods are the major sources of vitamin C in the diet, especially when they are consumed fresh. Low consumption of fruits and vegetables is among the top ten risk factors that contribute to global mortality. In this study 5 ingredients (spinach, carrot, apple, orange and kiwi) and 19 mixtures, were evaluated concerning vitamin C content, to estimate the potential additive, synergistic or antagonistic effects of their mixture. In 2022, the ingredients were collected from the major supermarket chains in Lisbon. Then, Design Expert software was used to define the composition of the mixtures. Total vitamin C, dehydroascorbic and ascorbic acids contents of the 5 ingredients, plus 19 mixtures, were determined by liquid chromatography coupled to photodiode array detection. Kiwi and orange were the ingredients with the highest vitamin C content, with 51.3 and 24.5 mg/100 g, respectively. These samples were also the ones with the highest ascorbic acid content, representing more than 90% of their vitamin C. For mixtures, total vitamin C ranged from 2.21 and 27.4 mg/100 g. However, 47% of the mixtures only have dehydroascorbic acid. For 79% of the mixtures, antagonistic effects were observed, meaning that the determined value was lower than the predicted value. Our findings suggest that the mixture of the ingredients decreases the ascorbic acid availability in comparison with the ingredients. A portion (160 g) of kiwi can contribute with 91% and 103% of the daily reference intake for vitamin C for adult men and women, respectively. Regarding the mixtures, it would be necessary to ingest more than 300 g to meet the recommended needs, indicating that the mixture of these ingredients should be rethought.

This work was financially supported by INSA, I.P., under the project TradFRUIT (2012DAN668) and by European Union (FEDER funds through COMPETE), under the Partnership Agreement PT2020, and National Funds (FCT, Foundation for Science and Technology) through projects UIDB/50006/2020 and by AgriFood XXI I&D&I project (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000041) co-financed by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), through the NORTE 2020 (Programa Operacional Regional do Norte 2014/2020).

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