Abstract
THE nasturtium, Tropœoleum majus, a native of Peru, flourishes throughout New Zealand. The leaves, which are used as a salad food, are very rich in vitamin C, the concentration ranging from 200 to 465 mgm. per 100 gm. in the samples tested. As a rule, the leaves of any particular plant show much less variation than this, although small leaves tend to have higher values than large leaves. Stalks contain 100–160 mgm. per 100 gm. and are therefore also a rich source. Little or no dehydroascorbic acid is present, although the ascorbic acid oxidase is exceedingly active in disintegrated tissues.
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SUTHERLAND, M. Vitamin C in Plants: 'Nasturtium' (Tropaeoleum majus). Nature 153, 683 (1944). https://doi.org/10.1038/153683b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/153683b0
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