Apples are a good source of vitamin C and provide significant antiscorbutic activity which may also relate to the flavonoids they contain. It has been speculated that the antioxidants accumulate in the skin to protect the ripening fruit from light and oxidative stress. In a similar manner the outer layer of pulp contains higher levels of vitamin C compared to the inner core. Smaller varieties may therefore contain a higher relative amount of vitamin C because they have a skin to pulp ratio that favours skin. Variations in the vitamin C content of apples has been shown to occur between varieties. It has also been shown that location of the tree, environmental conditions and a myriad of growing factors affects the vitamin C content of the apple. Further, the storage and handling of the fruit post-harvest also plays a significant role in the amount of vitamin C present in any given apple. For example storage for 6 days above room temperature caused a significant reduction in vitamin C content, whilst storage at lower temperatures did not.
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