Ingredient Information

Function

Ascorbic acid is added to processed foods as an antioxidant stabilizer, which prevents color and flavor from fading or changing. It is also a preservative. Ascorbic acid is added to cured meats to neutralize nitrides, which are cancer-causing compounds used and formed in the curing process. Ascorbic acid is also used to improve the baking properties of flour and to strengthen dough.

Ascorbic acid when used as a food additive is synthetic. While it has the molecular structure of one component of vitamin C, some claim that it cannot perform the vitamin action of vitamin C, which requires bioflavonoids and other factors. Manufacturers often add ascorbic acid to foods to boost vitamin content, but ascorbic acid is not truly vitamin C and may not perform the beneficial functions of vitamin C in the body.

Other Use and Industries

Ascorbic acid is used in natural cosmetics for its antioxidant properties. It is also commonly sold as the supplement, vitamin C.

Health Effects

Ascorbic acid is commonly sold as a supplement, vitamin C, for its antioxidant properties, which prevent cell damage. Ascorbic acid is a natural compound found in many plants and animals. It is essential to the survival of all animals and most animals manufacture it naturally within their bodies.

Humans, due to a genetic mutation, cannot manufacture ascorbic acid and must ingest it in food. Ascorbic acid is water soluble. It is constantly flushed from the body and must be replenished daily. A deficiency of ascorbic acid causes scurvy, a disease which inhibits collagen production and is eventually fatal if not treated. Scurvy is easily cured or prevented by the consumption of foods that contain vitamin C, such as citrus fruit, and even fresh meat.

Although ascorbic acid is commonly referred to as vitamin C it is only one component of the vitamin C complex. Manufactured vitamins are not identical to vitamins we obtain from food, and they do not have the same vitamin activity.

Origins

Ascorbic acid for commercial use is chemically produced from glucose (a kind of sugar) in a series of steps including chemical reactions and oxidation by bacteria.