CHANGES IN CATALASE ACTIVITY IN ORANGE AND TANGERINE FROM OZORO TOWN OF DELTA STATE

Citrus is a popular fruit in many parts of the world due to its unique taste, flavor and numerous health assistance associated with them. Citrus sinensis (orange) is the citrus plant belonging to the family of “Rutaceae”. Citrus reticulate (tangerine) is a moderately sized fruit tree widely used as herbal medicine worldwide. Antioxidant are the molecules that prevent cellular damage caused by oxidation of other molecules. Catalase is a common enzyme found in nearly all living organisms exposed to oxygen. This study was carried out to investigate the changes in catalase activity in orange and tangerine from Ozoro. The result obtained shows that there was no significant difference in the catalase activity of ripe orange (19.34+2.18units/gfw) when compared with ripe tangerine (20.10+1.62 units/gfw). The high content of antioxidant proves that ripe orange and ripe tangerine has the potential to be used as a natural food antioxidant agent. It is therefore recommended that the consumption of ripe orange and ripe tangerine should be encouraged since they both contain good amount of vitamin C.