Evening star., 1953-04-17
Chemicals in an Orange
Could Stock Drugstore
Vitumin 6 Well Retained
In Concentrated Juices
BY Thomos R. Henry

Complex as life itself is an orange.
Department of Agriculture chemists
are tearing apart the golden apple Of
the Hesperides. of which Americans
now consume about 20 billion q year
in forms as far apart as slices In bour.
bon old-fashioneds and candied peels.
One might almost stock q drugstore
with the stuff they are finding-vita-
minis, engines. proteins. fats and car
bohydrates, some of which are essential
in diet.
Among the latest substances they
have found. as announced by DR.. G. E.
Hilbert, chief of the Bureau of Engi-
neering and Chemistry, are IL amino
acids, II yellow pigments of which at
least four are converted into Vitamin A,
IL So-called f1avonoids of which eight
have not yet been identified, and %
flavoring constituents.
The orange contains potassium, phos-
phoruS, calcium. sulfur, magnesium.
sodium, iron, aluminium, carbon and
chlorine. There are three kinds Of
Sugar-sucrose, glucose and levulose.
AScorbic acid, the anti-scurvy vitamin.
and at least four vitamins of the B
complex, thiamin, riboflavin, NICOTINE
acid and form of inosterol can be
isolated. There are a half dozen or
more engines which activate life proc
eSSeS.
100 Chemicals.
Altogether there probably are at
least hundred chemicals in the aver
age orange, some known for years and
some which can be isolated only with
the newest techniques. The Agricul-
ture chemists don't even guess how
many other things remain to be found.
or what good they will be when iso-
lated.
There are II free amino acids, nitro
gen-containing substances which COM
bine to form proteins, the building
stones of the animal body. Eleven of
the SO known amino acids are essential
in human diet. but none of those found
in oranges. Only one, Argentine, Is
essential in the diet of rats.
The golden color of the orange is
due to So-called carotenoid pigments,
of which at least four have been found
to have somewhat the same type Of
action as Vitamin A. They may, per-
haps. serve as precursors to formation
of this vitamin in the body.
There are IL distinct substances
known as f1avonoids, which are be-
lieved to have some physiological ef.
fects, the exact nature Of which Is un-
known. There are about 28 favoring
constituents.
But even with the sorting out Of all
these complexities, DR.. Hilbert says.
chemists may be only at the edge OF
the complexity Of the golden fruit.
There are doubtless many more con.
stituents to be found.
I'VE must confess complete igno-
rance" he says "as to whether some Of
them will be good or bad"
The great increase in curiosity about
the food value Of the orange. he pointed
out, has arisen in the last few years
with the introduction Of frozen orange
Juice concentrate which can be shipped
all over the country and kept for in
definite periods without any deteriora-
ton.
Vitamin C Retained.
It has been demonstrated, he said.
that the Vitamin c, the anti-scurvy
vitamin, and the carotene of the orig
inal orange are retained very well
through the low-temperature concen-
tration process. But at this point, he
said, I'VE encounter large area OF
ignorance, and until we know great
deal more we cannot say what is tho
difference in nutritive value between
fresh, sliced orange and concentrate.
Orange juice is more than solution OF
sugar, citric acid, flavoring oils, Vita
min c and carotene A whole peeled
orange is still more than that"
The orange, DR.. Hilbert stressed, is
far from being alone in its complexity.
but it happens to be one product upon
which work of Agriculture Department
chemists has been concentrated.
"A great and complex field OF basic
investigation remains to be explored"
he says. Our knowledge of the con-
stituents of our most common foods
is extremely sketchy. Even less is
known about the physical effects Of
many of the known constituents, to
say nothing of the unidentified ones.
Perhaps we have been too ready to
assume that the foods found acceptable
by the human race for 10000 years
are ideal. People still suffer and die
from organic ailments the basic causes
of which are unknown. but which may
be due to unknown food factors"