Effects of cooking additives on the content of vitamin C in some vegetables in southern Malawi.

We report a study aimed to determine the effects of using soda sodium bicarbonate), chidulo (ashes obtained from certain plant materials), groundnut flour and cooking oil on the content of Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in some common vegetables found in the south of Malawi. Soda and chidulo reduced significantly the content of ascorbic acid while groundnut flour and cooking oil increased the availability of ascorbic acid.