Citric Acid

Citric Acid

Citric acid is a weak organic acid. It is naturally found in citrus fruits. It easily mixes into liquids, making it a valuable acid. Lemons and limes have high concentrations of citric acid, accounting for their bitter taste. Oranges and tangerines are also high in citric acid, though lower than the more bitter citrus fruits. Citric acid can be added to ice cream as an emulsifying agent to keep fats from separating, to caramel to prevent sucrose crystallisation, or to recipes in place of fresh lemon juice.

Citric acid is used as a flavouring in many preparations of Vitamin C, and has a wide variety of other uses. In industry, citric acid can be used to make good “natural” cleaners. It is used to soften water. Citric acid is the active ingredient in some bathroom and kitchen cleaning solutions.

Citric acid is a normal component of human cells that is metabolised, degraded, and eliminated from the body. Also known as E330, it is one of the main ingredients in the food and beverage industry because it is easily obtained in large quantities, healthy and cheap. It is often used for proper mineral supplementation of food, as an acidity regulator, and as a flavor compound. Citric acid enhances the activity of many beneficial antioxidants, but is not, itself, an antioxidant.

Citric acid was first artificially produced in 1784 from lemon juice, by Karl Wilhelm Scheele. It is the most frequently used preservative in the world today. Citric acid also prevents the formation of kidney stones and ensures proper functioning of the kidneys. Citric acid's ability to chelate calcium and its alkalising properties make it useful as a method for preventing kidney stones. In the case of stained skin or freckles, the use of a cream rich in citric acid will have a depigmentation effect. Citric acid is known to have the ability to destroy bacteria, mold, viruses and rust, and therefore was used in the production of pesticides, fungicides and disinfectants solutions. It is used in the manufacture of medicinal products and in bio-technology industries. It is combined with sodium bicarbonate for medicines such as Alka-Seltzer.