CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION
OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT
REQUIREMENTS
THEORY
CHEMICAL EQUATIONS
PROCEDURE
PRECAUTIONS
OBSERVATIONS
CALCULATIONS
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY

INTRODUCTION
Guava is sweet, juicy and light or dark green
coloured fruit. It is cultivated in all parts of India.
When ripe it acquires yellow colour and has
penetrating strong scent. The fruit is rich in
vitamin C and minerals. It is a rich source of
oxalate and its content in the fruit varies during
different stages of ripening.
Guava fruit, usually 4 to 12 cm long, are
round or oval depending on the species. The
outer skin may be rough, often with a bitter
taste,

or

soft

and

sweet.

Varying

between

species, the skin can be any thickness, is usually

green before maturity, but becomes yellow,
maroon, or green when ripe.
Guava fruit generally have a pronounced and
typical fragrance, similar to lemon rind but less
sharp. Guava pulp may be sweet or sour, offwhite ("white" guavas) to deep pink ("red"

guavas), with the seeds in the central pulp of

variable number and hardness, again depending
on species.

WHAT IS OXALATE?
Oxalate is an organic acid, primarily found in
plants, animals and humans. It is not an essential
molecule and is excreted from our body in an
unchanged form.

Our body

either produces

oxalate on its own or it converts other molecules

like vitamin C to oxalate. External sources like the
foods we eat also contribute to the accumulation
of oxalate in our body. The oxalate present in the
body is excreted in our urine as a waste. Too
much of oxalate in our urine, results in a medical
condition called as hyperoxaluria, commonly
referred to as kidney stones. Diet is looked upon
as a preventive measure in addition to medicines
to treat kidney stones. Read more on what
causes kidney stones.

OBJECTIVE OF PROJECT
In this project, we will learn to test for the
presence of oxalate ions in the guava fruit and
how its amount varies during different stages of
ripening.

REQUIREMENTS

CHEMICALS REQUIRED
Dilute H SO
2

N
20

KMnO4 solution

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.

Titration is a common laboratory method of

quantitative chemical analysis that is used to
determine the unknown concentration of a known
reactant. Because volume measurements play a
key role in titration, it is also known as volumetric
analysis. A reagent, called the titrant or titrator,
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 (see
below). This is ideally the same volume as the
equivalence pointthe volume of added titrant

at which the number of moles of titrant is equal

to the number of moles of analyte, or 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.

CHEMICAL EQUATIONS
Molecular Equations

Ionic Equations

PROCEDURE
1.Weigh 50.0g of fresh guava and crush it to a
fine pulp using pestle-mortar.

2. Transfer the crushed pulp to beaker and add

about 50 ml dil. H2SO4 to it

3.Boil the contents for about 10 minutes.

4. Cool and filter the contents in a 100 ml

measuring flask. Make the volume upto 100 ml
by adding distilled water

5. Take 20 ml of the solution from the measuring

flask into a titration flask and add 30 ml of dilute
sulphuric acid to it.

6. Heat the mixture to about 60oC and titrate it

against KMnO4 solution taken in a burette. The
end point is appearance of permanent light-pink
colour.

7. Repeat the above experiment with 50.0 g of 1,

2 and 3 days old guava fruit.

PRECAUTIONS
1. KMnO4 solution is always taken in the burette.
2. Avoid the use of burette having a rubber tap as KMnO 4
attacks rubber.
3. In order to get some idea about the temperature of the
solution touch the flask to the back side of your hand.
When it becomes unbearable to touch, the required
temperature is reached.
4. Add about an equal volume of dil. H2SO4 to the

guava extract to be titrated (say a full test tube)

before adding KMnO4 .
5. Read the upper meniscus while taking burette
reading with KMnO4 solution.
6. In case, on addition of KMnO4 a brown ppt.
appears, this shows that either H2SO4 has not been
added or has been added in insufficient amount. In
such a case, throw away the solution and titrate
again.
7. The concentration of oxalate ion obtained from the
filtrate is unfavourably high. If the titration is
carried with concentrated filtrate, the scale of the
burette

is

out

of

scope

in

regard

to

the

concentration of the oxalate ion. So diluting the

concentrated filtrate to an appropriate proportion
and titrating it with KMnO4 and estimating the end
point will make it favourable. After estimating the

end

from

the

diluted

solution,

the

original

concentration of the concentrated filtrate can be

calculated by multiplying the concentration the
estimated filtrate with the factor by which it was
diluted.

OBSERVATIONS
Weight of guava fruit taken each time = 50.0 g
Volume of guava extract taken in each titration = 20.0 ml
Normality of KMnO4 solution = 1/20 N

CALCULATIONS
For fresh guava
N1V1

N2V2

(guava extract) (KMnO4 solution)

N1 x 10 =1/20 x

Normality of oxalate, N1 =

x
200

Strength of oxalate in fresh guava extract

= Normality x Eq. mass of oxalate ion

x
200

x 44 g/litre of the diluted extract

Similarly, calculate the strength of oxalate in 1, 2

and 3 days old guava extract and interpret the
result.
For One day old guava
N1V1

N2V2

(guava extract)
N1 x 10 =

1
20

(KMnO4 solution)
x

Normality of oxalate, N1 =

x
200

Strength of oxalate in one day guava extract

= Normality x Eq. mass of oxalate ion
=

x
200

x 44 g/litre of the diluted extract

Similarly, calculate the strength of oxalate in 1, 2

and 3 days old guava extract and interpret the
result.

CONCLUSION
The concentration of the oxalate ion increases
with increase with ripening.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. www.wikipedia.org
2. Comprehensive Practical Chemistry for Class XII

*************