OptimizatiOn Of methOdOlOgy tO analyze ascOrbic and dehydrOascOrbic acid in vegetables flávia milagres campos*, sônia machado rocha ribeiro, ceres m. della lucia e helena maria pinheiro-sant'ana Departamento de Nutrição e Saúde, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Av. PH Rolfs, s/n, 36571-000 Viçosa -MG, Brasil paulo césar stringheta Departamento de Tecnologia de Alimentos, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Av. PH Rolfs, s/n, 36571-000 Viçosa -MG, BrasilRecebido em 10/1/08; aceito em 18/8/08; publicado na web em 15/12/08In this study, different solutions to extract vitamin C were tested. High-performance liquid chromatography was chosen and the conditions were based on isocratic elution in reverse phase column. Dehydroascorbic acid was determined indirectly after its reduction using dithiothreitol. The use of metaphosphoric acid to stabilize the vitamin C was shown to be required and it was necessary to neutralize the pH of the extract to apply dithiothreitol. The average recovery was 90% in collard and tomato samples. The presence of oil did not interfere in extraction and the methodology can be used to analyze stir fried vegetables.