Citric Acid
Citric acid is a naturally occurring organic and weak acid mainly found in citrus fruits such as lemon and orange. It adds acidity, prevents microbes from growing, and makes things taste tangy.
For every kilogram of body weight, there is about 1 milligram of citric acid in human blood. Generally, people buy citric acid as it helps them convert food energy into cellular energy through a process called the ‘Citric Acid Cycle.’
Besides energy production, citric acid also enhances calcium, magnesium, and phosphorous by absorbing through the gut. This mineral-binding property helps in preventing calcium crystals, or you can say kidney stones, from forming.
History Of Citric Acid
In 1784, citric acid was first discovered in lemon juice by an English scientist named William Scheele. Fast forward to 1917, an American chemist James Currie made the most significant discovery of his career. He fed sugar to a fungus and there popped out a lot of citric acids. Compared to extracting citric acid from fruit, the Currie method was cheaper and efficient.
In today’s time, the industries pump out over 2 million tons of citric acid every year. It has become a big business after the origin of mass-produced citric acid as an existing molecule (C6H8O7) in limes and lemons.
The production of citric acid isn’t complicated. You have to perform aspergillus niger, a surgery substrate, then wait till it ferments. After fermentation, the citric acid is separated and purified. Citric acid is a by-product of this process in the same way oxygen is a by-product of photosynthesis.
Natural Sources of Citric Acid
Foods high in citric acid are citrus fruits, especially lemon juice, and limes have a significant amount of citruc acid in them. To be specific, one liter of lemon juice contains 48 gm of citric acid – an amount far exceeding what you found in manufacturing foods.
Other vegetables and fruits also contain some natural amount of citric acid.
- Lemons
- Limes
- Oranges
- Grapefruits
- Berries
Products Containing Citric Acid
It’s not just sour fruits with citric acid, but all the plants and animals have slight traces of it. Moreover, many packaged foods and non-food items such as cleaning products and cosmetics also contain citric acid, but the manufactured one and not the natural type.
- Soda
- Citrus Fruits
- Juice
- Candy
- Frozen foods
- Ice-creams
- Package foods
- Cleaning Products
- Cosmetic items
- Disinfectants
- Medicines
- Alcohol
Benefits Of Buying Citric Acid
Citric acid is known for its various health benefits to the human body. Some of them are:
1. Enriched Mineral Absorption
When bonded to ions like calcium and magnesium, Citric acid enhances the mineral’s bio availability in the body. In other words, your body absorbs minerals better if you take citric acid in dietary supplement form. Thus, you can buy citric acid online for daily use.
2. Prevent Kidney Stones
Kidney stones develop when someone has very acidic urine. Citric acid stops calcium from crystallization and makes the kidney healthy, preventing kidney stones from forming. Low blood citrate is a significant risk factor for developing kidney stones. The studies found that citrate therapy reduced the stone’s size and improved the kidney’s health by making the urine less acidic.
3. Improves Skin Health
Citric acid is an alpha-hydroxy acid added to some skincare and other personal care products to adjust the acidity and promote skin peeling and regrowth. Moreover, it has anti-aging characteristics and is extensively used in serum masks and night creams that protect skin against photo aging.
If you are looking for a citric acid supplier, you may contact KJ Ingredients for the best experience.
