Quantitative determination of iron and folic acid in Lactuca sativa (Lettuce) plant

Lettuce is one of the most widely used vegetable all over the world. Millions of people all over the world especially women and children suffer from neural tube and other diseases as a result of iron and folic acid deficiencies. The sole aim of this research therefore was to determine the level of iron and folic acid in lettuce plant. High performance liquid chromatography (BLC-20) and spectrophotometry were used for the determination of folic acid and iron respectively. Results from the current study suggest the level of folic acid to be 0.042 mg/L at 282nm and that of Iron 69.93 μg/g at 515nm. Women and children an indeed a great number of the Nigerian population is at risk of consequences attributable to deficiency of these important nutrients.