The influence of the dissolved oxygen in milk on the stability of some vitamins towards heating and during subsequent exposure to sunlight

Summary Heat sterilization of milk destroyed about 50% of its folic acid activity, and subsequent exposure of the milk to sunlight caused a progressive further loss. This loss of folate, as of vitamin B 12 , was a consequence of the oxidative destruction of the milk's ascorbic acid, and was largely prevented by thorough exclusion of oxygen from the milk during heat processing and subsequent storage. With thiamine, riboflavin, nicotinic acid, vitamin B 6 and biotin, stability towards heating and during exposure to sunlight was affected little, if at all, by the oxygen tension in the milk.