EXPERIMENT NO.

Date Performed: Sept. 22, 2016 Date Finished:

Sept. 29, 2016

Determination of Crude Fiber

Date

October 13, 2016

Jo Hanzelle Tadlas
Group No. 2

Submitted:

INTRODUCTION
Fiber is an indigestible carbohydrate component found in plants for

structural purposes, but also considered useful for the human diet; Crude
fiber is a method used to differentiate the types of fiber present within the
food (Jacobs, 2015).
Crude fiber, according to Pomeranz and Meloan (1994), includes
materials that are indigestible in the human and animal organism, and
determined as material that is insoluble in dilute acid and dilute alkali
under specific conditions.
The original crude fiber determination was based on a procedure made
by Hennenberg, Stohmann and Rautenberg in Germany, where 2 grams of
petroleum ether defatted material and boiled for 30 minutes with 200
milliliters (mL) of sulfuric acid per 100 mL of sample solution, which is then
filtered using linen or cheesecloth, and washed with boiling water until the
washings are no longer acidic; afterwards, the same process is followed,
only in the second time, sodium hydroxide will be used, with final residue
filtered through a thin pad of ignited asbestos in a Gooch crucible, dried,
weighed, incinerated, and weighed again as the loss in weight will be taken
as crude fiber (Pomeranz & Meloan, 1994). This process is also called the
Weendes method of determination for crude fiber as it was originally
proposed

at

the

Weende

Experiment

Station

in

Germany

(Pelican

Equipments, 2010).
The objectives of the experiment were to determine the crude fiber
content of the sweet potato sample, and have the students learn of the
methods and principle of crude fiber determination.
II

METHODOLOGY

The materials and equipment used for the experiment were a muffle
furnace, crucibles and covers, Bunsen burner, hot plate, a stirring rod,
watch glass, Whatman no. 41 filter papers, blue and red litmus papers,
desiccator, an analytical balance, crucible tongs, beakers, and a drying
oven.
The reagents used were 1.25% of sulfuric acid (H 2SO4), and 2.5%
NaOH. The group prepared the H2SO4 for the whole class, where 12.76 mL
of the reagent was diluted with 2 liters of water.
One liter of distilled water was boiled on a hot plate and was set aside.
The filter papers for the H2SO4 and NaOH extractions were folded and
placed in 100 mL beakers, dried at 105C for one hour, and weighed.
Sweet potatoes have low fat content, and so the group did not defat
the sample before being used for crude fiber determination. Approximately
two gram of the sample were weighed in two separate beakers, added with
200 ml of 1.25% H2SO4 in a 500 ml beaker, and stirred with a glass rod
tipped with a rubber policeman. The beaker with the sample solution was
covered with a watch glass and boiled for 30 minutes, and added with
distilled water as it loses some volume.
After boiling, the solution was filtered through the pre-dried filter
paper, and washed with hot distilled water until it was no longer acidic. The
acidity was monitored using the red and blue litmus papers.
The residue after filtration was then added with 100 ml water, and 100
mL 2.5% NaOH solution, boiled for 30 minutes, and filtered until it was no
longer alkaline. The alkalinity was monitored using the litmus papers as
well.

The filter paper was allowed to drain, and transferred back into the
beakers to dry for three hours at 105C. After drying, the filter papers were
weighed, redried for 15 minutes, and weighed until it was constant.
The paper was ignited in half-covered crucibles and was heated until
steam was no longer rising from the sample. The crucibles with the samples
were then placed in the furnace at 105C for four to five hours.
The crude fiber was then calculated from the loss in weight after
ignition, as wet and dry basis.
III

RESULTS

Table 1. Percent Crude Fiber of Sweet Potato Samples in Dry and Wet Basis
Sample No.

Sample
Weight
(grams)

Crude Fiber
Weight
(grams)

% Crude
Fiber (Dry
Basis)

% Crude
Fiber (Wet
Basis)

2.0166

0.0543

2.6927

0.3529

2.0858

0.0573

2.7415

1.19935

2.72

0.78

AVERAGE

IV

DISCUSSIONS
Dilute solutions of H2SO4 and NaOH were used to digest the sample,

where the residue would be left with only mineral matter or ash, and a
resistant fraction of carbohydrate. After the ignition of the organic matter
within the ashless filter paper, the organic matter is oxidized, leaving the
organic residue in the crucible; the difference in weight of the residue before
and after ignition will give the weight of the crude fiber (Pelican Equipments,
2010).

Protein, sugar, starch, lipids and some parts of the structural

carbohydrates are part of the organic constituents of plant cells, and are
removed with the treatment of chemicals in the food, while other structural
carbohydrates like cellulose and hemicellulose remain as the residue that is
considered indigestible by the human body (Jacobs, 2015).
The experimental data show that the average crude fiber content of
the groups sweet potato samples were 2.72 % and 0.78 %, dry and wet
basis, respectively. When compared to the literature values given by
Senanayake,

Ranaweera,

Gunaratne,

and

Bamunuarachchi

in

their

comparative study of nutritional contents of varieties of sweet potato, the

data obtained by the group were similar, as the said average amount of
crude fiber ranges from 2.1% to 13.6% on a dry basis.
Crude fiber residues contain about 97% cellulose and lignin, but does
not represent all the cellulose and lignin present initially, nor does it
represent any specific compound or group of compounds (Pomeranz &
Meloan, 1994).
However, despite its nonspecificity, crude fiber is greatly used in food
and feed analyses, and is mostly used as an index of poultry and stock feed
feeding value; it is also used to evaluate the efficiency of milling and
separating bran from the endosperm, and in chemical determination of
succulence in fresh fruit and vegetables (Pomeranz & Meloan, 1994).
V

CONCLUSIONS
The average crude fiber content of the sweet potatoes were 2.72% and

0.78%, on a dry and wet basis, which is within the range of the 2.1% to
13.6% range of the literature values, on a dry basis.

Higher crude fiber contents lead to lower energy content of food, as

crude fiber is considered as indigestible (Glossary of Common Terms Used in
Animal Feeding and Nutrition, 2015).
Determinations

of

crude

fiber

are

affected

significantly

by

manipulations and procedures, and thus, must be executed carefully,

through control of the boiling point, rate of boiling and the non-delay of
filteration, as delays can cause the results to lower (Pomeranz & Meloan,
1994).
VI

REFERENCES

Glossary of Common Terms Used in Animal Feeding and Nutrition. (2015).

Retrieved

October

2016

from

http://www.caes.uga.edu/commodities/fieldcrops/forages/glossary/c.ht
ml
Jacobs. (2015). The definition of crude fiber. Retrieved 1 October 2016
from http://www.livestrong.com/article/322507-the-definition-of-crudefiber-in-food/
Jansen, R. (2009). A consideration of allowable fibre levels in weaning
foods.

Retrieved

October

2016

from

http://archive.unu.edu/unupress/food/8F024e/8F024E09.htm
Nielsen, S. (2010). Food Analysis 4th ed. Springer: United States of
America.
Pelican Equipments. (2010). Chemistry of Crude Fiber. Retrieved 1 October
2016 from http://www.pelicanequipments.com/application.html
Pomeranz, Y., C. Meloan. (1994). Food analysis: theory and practice, 3 rd ed.
Chapman & Hall: New York.

Rose, I., Vasanthakaalam, H. (2011). Comparison of nutrient content of the

different

sweet potato varieties in Rwanda. American Journal of Food

and Nutrition. Kigali, Rwanda.

Senanayake, S., Ranaweera, K., Gunaratne, A., Bamunuarachchi, A.
(2013). Comparative analysis of the nutritional quality of the different
cultivars of sweet potatoes (Ipomea batatas) in Sri Lanka. DOI:
10.1002/fsn3.38
VII

APPENDICES

Table 1. Raw data of filter paper weights, and crucible weights without cover,
and after ashing
Sample
No.

Crucible
weights
after
ashing
(grams)

Crucible
weights
without
cover
(grams)

Weight
of ash
(grams
)

Weight
of
Filter
Papers
after
ashing
(grams
)

Filter
Paper
Weights
(grams)

23.1001

23.0994

0.0007

1.0576

1.0026

Residu
e
Weight
s
(grams
insolub
le
materi
al)
0.055

23.5006

23.4983

0.0023

1.0505

0.9909

0.0596

Crude
Fiber
Weigh
ts
(gram
s)

0.054
3
0.057
3

Table 2. Calculations for Dry and Wet Basis of % Crude Fiber

Sampl
e No.
1

% Crude Fiber (Dry Basis)

% Crude Fiber (Wet Basis)

Weight Crude Fiber (g)

100
Sample weight ( g)

Wi

0.0543
100=2.6927
2.0166

0.198

35

Ash weight ( g)
100
W i (g)

0.0007
100=0.3529
0.19835

Averag

0.0573
100=2.7415
2.0858

0.191
77

0.0023
100=1.19935
0.19177

2.72

e
Where Wet Weight = Wi, and can be calculated through,
0.60=

W i Sample Weight (g)

100
Wi

0.78