Use of NMR for the Analysis and Quantification of the Sugar Composition in Fresh and Store-Bought Fruit Juices

NMR spectroscopy is traditionally taught to students during Organic Chemistry as a tool used for the determination of structures after synthesis. However, modern NMR spectroscopy has many important applications beyond structure elucidation, including molecular profiling of complex mixtures as biofluids and food samples. In this experiment, students collect a series of nonselective and selective 1D NMR spectra of natural and supermarket fruit juices and are asked to identify and quantify the sugars present. For the quantitative analysis of the juices, the students must use the ERETIC2 (electronic reference to access in vivo concentrations 2) method embedded in the NMR software.