APPLES AS FOOD 11 



Table 6. — Acidity and pH Values of Thirteen Varieties of Apples 



Grown in New York State 



(based on 302 samples, 1930 to 1935) 



(Pfund, 1939) 



Average Acidity* and pH Values 

 October to January February to April October to April 



Variety Acidity* pH Acidity* pH Acidity* pH 



Baldwin 10.7 



Cortland 



Fameuse 



Golden Delicious 



Jonathan 



Mcintosh 



Northern Spy 



Red Canada 



Rhode Island Greening 



Rome Beauty 



Twenty Ounce 



Wealthy 



Wintet Banana 



All Varieties 7.7 3.31 5.4 3.50 6.7 3.39 



* Average milliliters of N/10 NaOH required to neutralize 10 milliliters of raw juice. 



forming basal diet and the other an approximately neutral basal diet. The 

 neutral diet was chosen because the effect of added apples on urinary acidity 

 could not be forseen. The acid-forming basal diet was used because it was be- 

 lieved that if the ingested material increased the alkalinity of the urine, the results 

 would be more evident. Baldwin and Mcintosh apples were tested. Large 

 quantities (800 and 1000 grams) of these were eaten daily by the men on the ex- 

 periment. The alkali reserve was expressed as cubic centimeters of carbon 

 dioxide per 100 cubic centimeters of blood plasma. The data are summarized in 

 Table 7. 



The ingestion of large quantities of Baldwin or Mcintosh apples caused a slight 

 reduction in the pH value of the urine but did not significantly affect the blood 

 alkali reserve; also approximately 90 percent of the organic acids of apples was 

 completely oxidized or otherwise transformed in the body on either acid-forming 

 or neutral diets. 



The fact that there was no significant increase in urinary acidity in human 

 subjects as a result of eating large quantities of apples indicates the probable 

 absence of benzoic and quinic acid in apples. 



The European worker, Marynowska-Kaulbersz (1933), reported that an apple 

 diet tended slightly toward alkalosis. 



It may be of interest that Fellers, Redmon and Parrott (1932) investigated the 

 effect of cranberries on urinary acidity and blood alkali reserve, and found that 

 when eaten in normal quantities (2 to 5 ounces of cranberry sauce, equivalent to 

 22 to 54 grams of fresh cranberries) no demonstrable effect on blood alkali reserve 

 could be observed. However, when large quantities of cranberries were eaten 

 (100 to 300 grams) a mild to moderate acidosis resulted. 



