Cranberry juice is rich source of antioxidants, vitamin C and salicylic acid. Cranberries contain vitamin C as evidenced by the presence of citric acid. One cup of Cranberry juice contained a total 8983 antioxidant capacity. Vitamin C is also an important antioxidant. It is important to recall that the antioxidants β -carotene and vitamin E protect water soluble substances from oxidizing agents; vitamin C protects water soluble substances the same way.
Research shows that people who consume cranberries have lower levels of C-reactive protein, a blood marker of inflammation, which is a known trigger of premature aging, chronic illness, and cognitive decline.
Cranberry juice is becoming a popular beverage. The fresh juice is fully as potent as the fruit, but after extraction, bottling, and processing, little of the vitamin C is retained by the methods now in use. Vitamin C is the least stable of all vitamins and it can be easily degraded during processing and storage. The most harmful factors to vitamin C content are the presence of oxygen, prolonged heating in the air ambiance and exposure to light.
The initial content of vitamin C in wild and cultivated fresh cranberries was differing, which mainly depends on varieties’ individuality.
Whole-fruit cranberry sauce as usually prepared contains approximately 80 per cent of the original vitamin C content, but strained sauce retains less than 10 per cent.
Vitamin C in cranberries
