LUCKNOW PUBLIC SCHOOL

MADHOGANJ, HARDOI
(Affiliated to CBSE, New Delhi)

--------------------Session: 2024-25-------------------

Chemistry Investigatory
Project on the topic:
PRESENCE OF OXALATE IONS IN
GUAVA FRUIT AT DIFFERENT STAGES
OF RIPENING

Submitted By: Submitted To:

Devansh Gupta, XII A Mr. Vipin (Sub. Teacher)
 CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Devansh Gupta, student of Class 12th,
Lucknow Public School, Madhoganj, has successfully
completed the chemistry project titled:“ PRESENCE OF
OXALATE IONS IN GUAVA FRUIT AT DIFFERENT STAGES
OF RIPENING” under the guidance and supervision of Mr.
Vipin, as part of the academic curriculum for the
year2024-25.
The project is an original and independent piece of work
carried out by the student with sincerity, dedication, and
enthusiasm. It complies with the prescribed standards and
guidelines set forth for such academic endeavours.
*****

Signature of Teacher

Signature of Principal

Signature of Examiner
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone
who guided and supported me throughout the course of
this project.
First and foremost, I would like to thank my chemistry
teacher, Mr. Vipin, for their invaluable guidance,
encouragement, and insights that helped shape this
project. Their explanations of the concepts and continuous
support were instrumental in successfully completing this
work.
I am also grateful to my school, LPS Madhoganj, for
providing the necessary resources and a conducive
environment to carry out this project.
I extend my heartfelt thanks to my parents and friends for
their constant encouragement and moral support, which
motivated me to work with enthusiasm and dedication.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge the importance of
practical experiments in enhancing understanding and
appreciation of chemistry, and I am grateful for the
opportunity to explore these concepts through this project.

- Devansh Gupta (XII A)

 INDEX
S.No. Topic Page

1. Acknowledgement 4
2. Introduction 5
3. Plant Chemicals 6
4. Oxalic Acid 8
5. Experiment 9
6. Observations 11
7. Calculations 12
8. Conclusion 13
9. Bibliography 14
 INTRODUCTION
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Psidium
Species: guajava
Common names: Guava, goiaba, guayaba, djamboe, djambu,
goavier, gouyave, goyave, goyavier, perala, bayawas, dipajaya
jambu, petokal, tokal, guave, guavenbaum, guayave, banjiro,
goiabeiro, guayabo, guyaba, goeajaaba, guave, goejaba,
kuawa, abas, jambu batu, bayabas, pichi, posh, enandi
Part Used: Fruit, leaf, bark

Guava is a common shade tree or shrub in dooryard gardens in

the tropics. It provides shade while the guava fruits are eaten
fresh and made into drinks, ice cream, and preserves. In the
richness of the Amazon, guava fruits often grow well beyond
the size of tennis balls on well-branched trees or shrubs
reaching up to 20 m high. Cultivated varieties average about 10
meters in height and produce lemon-sized fruits. The tree is
easily identified by its distinctive thin, smooth, copper-colored
bark that flakes off, showing a greenish layer beneath.

Guava fruit today is considered minor in terms of commercial

world trade but is widely grown in the tropics, enriching the diet
of hundreds of millions of people in the tropics of the world.
Guava has spread widely throughout the tropics because it
thrives in a variety of soils, propagates easily, and bears fruit
relatively quickly. The fruits contain numerous seeds that can
produce a mature fruit-bearing plant within four years.
 PLANT CHEMICALS
Guava is rich in tannins, phenols, triterpenes, flavonoids, essential oils,
saponins, carotenoids, lectins, vitamins, fiber and fatty acids. Guava fruit
is higher in vitamin C than citrus (80 mg of vitamin C in 100 g of fruit)
and contains appreciable amounts of vitamin A as well. Guava fruits
are also a good source of pectin - a dietary fiber. The leaves of guava are
rich in flavonoids, in particular, quercetin. Much of guava's therapeutic
activity is attributed to these flavonoids. The flavonoids have
demonstrated antibacterial activity. Quercetin is thought to contribute to
the anti-diarrhea effect of guava; it is able to relax intestinal smooth
muscle and inhibit bowel contractions. In addition, other flavonoids
and triterpenes in guava leaves show antispasmodic activity. Guava also
has antioxidant properties, which is attributed to the polyphenols found
in the leaves.

Guava's main plant chemicals include: alanine, alpha-humulene,

alpha-hydroxyursolic acid, alpha-linolenic acid, alpha-selinene,
amritoside, araban, arabinose, arabopyranosides, arjunolic acid,
aromadendrene, ascorbic acid, ascorbigen, asiatic acid, aspartic acid,
avicularin, benzaldehyde, butanal, carotenoids, caryophyllene, catechol-
tannins, crataegolic acid, D-galactose, D-galacturonic acid, ellagic acid,
ethyl octanoate, essential oils, flavonoids, gallic acid, glutamic acid,
goreishic acid, guafine, guavacoumaric acid, guaijavarin, guajiverine,
guajivolic acid, guajavolide, guavenoic acid, guajavanoic acid, histidine,
hyperin, ilelatifol isoneriucoumaric acid, isoquercetin, jacoumaric acid,
lectins, leucocyanidins, limonene, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, lysine,
mecocyanin, myricetin, myristic acid, nerolidiol, obtusinin, octanol,
oleanolic acid, oleic acid, oxalic acid, palmitic acid, palmitoleic acid,
pectin, polyphenols, psidiolic acid, quercetin, quercitrin, serine,
sesquiguavene, tannins, terpenes, and ursolic acid.
 GUAVA PLANT SUMMARY

Main Preparation Method: decoction

Main Actions (in order):

antidysenteric, antiseptic, antibacterial, antispasmodic,
cardiotonic (tones, balances, strengthens the heart)

Main Uses:

1. for dysentery (bacterial and amebic), diarrhea, colic, and

infantile rotavirus enteritis
2. as a broad-spectrum antimicrobial for internal and
external bacterial, fungal, candidal, and amebic
infections
3. to tone, balance, protect and strengthen the heart (and
for arrhythmia and some heart diseases)
4. as a cough suppressant, analgesic (pain-reliever), and
febrifuge (reduces fever) for colds, flu, sore throat, etc
5. as a topical remedy for ear and eye infections

Properties/Actions Documented by Research:

amebicide, analgesic (pain-reliever), antibacterial, anticandidal,
antidysenteric, antifungal, antimalarial, antioxidant,
antispasmodic, antiulcerous, cardiodepressant, cardiotonic
(tones, balances, strengthens the heart), central nervous system
depressant, cough suppressant, gastrototonic (tones, balances,
strengthens the gastric tract), hypotensive (lowers blood
pressure), sedative, vasoconstrictor

Other Properties/Actions Documented by Traditional Use:

anti-anxiety, anticonvulsant, antiseptic, astringent, blood
cleanser, digestive stimulant, menstrual stimulant, nervine
(balances/calms nerves), vermifuge (expels worms)

Cautions: It has a cardiac depressant effect and is

contraindicated in some heart conditions.
 O/ALIC ACID

IT is the chemical compound formula H2C2O4. This dicarboxylic

acid is better described with the formula HO2CCO2H. It is a
relatively strong organic a cid, being about 10,000 times stronger
than acetic acid. The dianion, known as oxalate, is also a reducing
agent and a ligand in coordination chemistry. Oxalic acid and
oxalates are abundantly present in many plants, most notably in
sour grass, and sorrel (including Oxalis), roots and leaves of
rhubarb and buckwheat.
At high concentrations, it is a dangerous poison, but such
immediately toxic levels are not found in foodstuffs but rather in
manufactures, such as some bleaches, some anti-rust products,
and some metal cleaners (among other things). It is also a
naturally occurring component of plants, and is found in
relatively high levels in dark-green leafy foods
In the human body, ingested oxalic acid is not a useful nutrient;
so, like all such unneeded components of diet, it is processed by
the body to a convenient form and that byproduct is then excreted--
in this case, in the urine. In the course of being processed by the
body, oxalic acid combines with other substances to form various
salts, called oxalates; usually, those salts are in solution, but
in high concentration some may precipitate out in crystalline form.
Such tiny crystals can cause damage to human tissue, especially
to the stomach, the kidneys, and the bladder. It is commonly
believed that oxalates contribute to the formation of kidney and
bladder stones; one common nutrient with which oxalic acid
combines is calcium, making the salt calcium oxalate, and
calcium oxalate is found in kidney stone
 To study the presence of Oxalate
Ion content in Guava Fruit at different
stages of ripening
Requirements:100 ml measuring flask, pestle and mortar, beaker,
titration flask, funnel, burette, weight box, pipette, filter paper, dilute
H2SO4, KMnO4, and guava fruits at different stages of ripening.

Theory:Oxalate ions are extracted from the fruit by

boiling pulp with dil. H2SO4. Then Oxalate ions are
estimated volumetrically by titrating the solution with
standard KMnO4 solution.

End Point: Appearance of permanent pink colour.

Procedure:
1. 50.0g of fresh guava was weighed and crushed to a fine pulp
using pestle-mortar.
2. The crushed pulp was transferred to a beaker and about 50ml dil.
H2SO4 was added. The contents were boiled for about 10 minutes.
3. The contents were filtered and cooled in 100ml measuring flask.
The volume was made up to 100ml by adding distilled water.
4. 20ml of this solution was taken into a titerating flask and 20ml
of dil. H2SO4 was added to it. The mixture was heated to about
60C and titerated against the standard KMnO4 solution taken in
a burette
5. The process was repeated with different samples of guava.
OBSERVATION
Weight of guava taken = 50.0 g
Volume of guava extract taken = 20.0 ml

Normality of KMnO4 solution =

Burette Concordant
Guava readings volume of
extract from Initial Final KMnO4
Solution
used
Fresh 0 50 50
1 day old 0 30 30
2 day old 0 15 15
3 day old 0 9 9
 Calculations
N1V1 = N2V2
(guava extract) (KMnO4 solution)

N1 x 20 = xV

 Normality of oxalate, N1 =

Strength of oxalate = Normality x Eq. mass of oxalate ion

= x 44 g/litre of the diluted extract.

Guava Strength of
extract oxalate ion
from (g/litre)
Fresh 5.5
1 day old 3.3
2 day old 1.65
3 day old 0.99
 Conclusion

Oxalic acid and oxalates are abundantly

present in many plants, most notably in
sour grass, and sorrel (including Oxalis),
roots and leaves of rhubarb and
buckwheat.
After doing this experiment we can
conclude that unripe guava has a high
content of Oxalate ions. The concentration
of oxalate ions decreases with the
ripening of fruit.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

In order to complete this project, I took help

from:

My chemistry teacher
Comprehensive Practical Chemistry
(Lab Manual) of Laxmi Publication
Different internet sites:
www.google.com
www.rain-tree.com
www.wikipedia.com