Presence of Oxalate in Guava

A Chemistry investigatory Project

This is to certify that Silky Darakdar of class 12th A as
satisfactorily completed the project in chemistry on
Presence of Oxalate ions prescribed by the CBSE
course in the academic year 2023-24. I have examined
the project and hereby accord my approval of it as a
study carried out and presented in the manner required
for its acceptance. This does not necessarily endorse or
accept every statement made or opinion expressed or
conclusion drawn, but only signifies the acceptance of
the project for the purpose it is submitted for.

Mrs. Meenal Sharma External Examiner

(Chemistry Teacher)

Acknowledgement
I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to my
Chemistry teacher Miss Meenal Sharma for her sincere guidance and
advice to complete my project successfully. Also, I am thankful to her
for providing such an interesting topic "Titration of Guava" for the
Chemistry Project.

I am also grateful to my parents and friends for their constant support

and help throughout the project, without their encouragement and
support this project could not have been completed on time.

Lastly, I would like to thank all the accessories and every single
person who helped me to complete this physics project successfully.

o Aim of the project

o Introduction
o Theory
o Requirements
o Chemical Equations
 o Procedure
o Precautions
o Observations
o Calculations
o Conclusions
o Bibliography

AIM - To study the presence of oxalate ions in guava fruit

at different stages of ripening.

INTRODUCTION –

Guava is a common sweet fruit found in

India and many other places around the
world. Guavas are plants in the Myrtle
family (Myrtaceae) genus
Psidium (meaning "pomegranate" in
Latin), which contains about 100 species
of tropical shrub. On ripening it turns
yellow in color. Rich in vitamin C, this fruit
is a rich source of oxalate ions whose
 content varies during the different stages
of ripening. Guavas have a pronounced
and typical fragrance, similar to lemon
rind but less in strength.

It is a carboxylic acid, primarily found in

plants and animals. It is not an essential
molecule and is excreted from our body,
unchanged. Our body either produces
oxalate on its own or converts other
molecules like Vitamin C to oxalate.
External sources like food also contribute
to the accumulation of oxalate in our
body. The oxalate present in the body is
excreted in the form of urine as waste.
Too much of oxalate in our urine results
in a medical condition called
hyperoxaluria, commonly referred to as
kidney stones. Diet is looked upon as a
preventive measure in addition to
medication to treat kidney stones.

Oxalate ions are extracted from the fruit by boiling pulp with dilute H2SO4. The
oxalate ions are estimated volumetrically, by titrating the solution with KMnO4
solution. A reagent, called the titrant, of a known concentration (a standard
solution) and volume is used to react with a solution of the analyte or titrand,
whose concentration is not known. Using a calibrated burette or chemistry
pipetting syringe to add the titrant, it is possible to determine the exact
amount that has been consumed when the endpoint is reached. The endpoint
is the
point at which the titration
is complete, as determined
by an indicator. This is
ideally the same volume as
the equivalence point.

The volume of added titrant at which the number of moles of titrant is equal to
some multiple thereof (as in polyprotic
acids). In the classic strong acid-strong
base titration, the endpoint of a
titration is the point at which the pH of the
reactant is just about equal to 7, and
often when the solution takes on a

persisting solid colour as in the pink of phenolphthalein indicator.

o Apparatus
100 ml measuring flask Pestle & Mortar Beaker Burette

Funnel Weighing machine Filter Papers

 o Chemicals
• dil. H2SO4 2. (N/10) KMnO4
solution

o Guava fruits at different stages of

ripening.

1. Weighed 50 g of fresh guava and crushed it to a fine pulp using pestle

and mortar.
2. Transferred the crushed pulp to a beaker and added about 50 ml
dilute
H2SO4 to it.
3. Boiled the content for about 10 minutes. Cooled and filtered the
contents in a 100 ml measuring flask.
4. Made up the volume 100 ml by adding ample amount of distilled
water.
5. Took 20 ml of the solution from the flask and added 20 ml of dilute
sulphuric acid to it.
6. Heated the mixture to about 600 C and titrated it against (n/10)
KMnO4
solution taken in a burette till the end point had an appearance of
pink
colour.
7. Repeated the above experiment with 50 g of 1day, 2 day and 3 day old
guava fruits.
1. For raw guava

N1V1 = N2V2
🡺N1 x 10 = (1/10) x132
🡺1/10 x Normality of oxalate = (x/100) = strength of oxalate in fresh guava
extract = normality x Eq. mass of oxalate ion
= 1.32/100 x 44g/litre of diluted extract
= 0.581 g L-1
2. For semi ripened guava (1 day old).
Strength of oxalate in one day old
guava extract
= (1.37 /100) x 44g/litre of diluted extract

= 0.603 g L-1
3) For ripened guava
Strength of oxalate in fresh guava extract
= ( 1.39/100) x 44g/litre of diluted extract
= 0.612 g L-1

• The normality of oxalate ions of;

• Fresh guava solution is = 1.32 ml
• Semi-ripen guava solution is = 1.37 ml
• Ripened guava solution is = 1.39 ml
• The strength of oxalate ions of;
• Fresh guava solution is = 0.58 ml
• Semi-ripened guava is = 0.60 ml
• Ripened guava is = 0.61 ml
The content of oxalate ions in guava was found to be 59.67
per cent, which is close to the literature value of 60
percent.
It was also noticed that the content of oxalic ions grows
with ripening of guava.
o Search engines used:
• www.google.com
• www.wikipedia.com
• www.reader.google.com
• www.labs.google.com
• www.quora.com
o Practical Chemistry by Laxmi Publications.
o The Family Encyclopedia by Dorling Kindersley.