Abstract
THE Biochemical Bulletin, No. 27, May 1943, published by the Sino-British Co-operation Office, includes among other items of interest an article by T. M. Chen, S. Ho, K. M. Hsieh and T. Shen on “A Very Rich Source of Vitamin C: the Wild Fruit of Emblic from India and S. China”. It was thought that this wild fruit might be used as a cheap and convenient source of vitamin C for the Allied Armies in this theatre of war. The tree, Phyllanthus Emblica L., bears the fruit, which is “fleshly, depressed, globose, ¾ in.-l in. diameter, obscurely 6-lobed”. The juice is very sour and astringent but contains about ten times as much ascorbic acid by indophenol titration as lemon juice, an average figure of 921 mgm./ 100 ml. juice being given. This is qualitatively supported by guinea pig tests. It is not toxic for humans, who probably utilize it to the same extent as the crystalline vitamin.
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A New Source of Vitamin C. Nature 152, 596 (1943). https://doi.org/10.1038/152596a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/152596a0