Vitamin C: Origin & Interesting Facts

Interesting facts about vitamin C

Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin that is often named as ascorbic acid.

Vitamin C is very sensitive to light and heat, which is why it is more likely to be found in raw products.

The raw material for this is always glucose, from which vitamin C is produced by means of two biochemical processes.

Origin of vitamin C

Vitamin C is one of the first vitamins that was ever discovered and could already appear at the beginning of the 20th century. At that time, Albert Szent-Györgyi isolated the vitamin from cabbage and paprika.

Subsequently, in 1933, Walter Norman Haworth succeeded in breaking down the chemical structure of vitamin C. As a result, both received a Nobel Prize in chemistry and medicine in 1937.

The knowledge on which this was based later led to a further development that enabled the industrial production of vitamin C from simple glucose. That innovation came from Tadeus Reichstein, a chemist who was also honored with a Nobel Prize.

Extraction of vitamin C

The main sources of vitamin C are fresh fruits and various types of vegetables. Since the vitamin is quite sensitive, only raw or frozen foods can ensure optimal intake. The most important foods include:

Some of the products that have a high content of vitamin C are difficult to consume in their raw state. Their flavor is too acidic or they have an inedible consistency. That's why it makes sense here to take the products in the form of juices.

By Christina Treu –

updated 11 Feb 2022

Christina Faithful

Editorial office Frummi

Christina Faithful has been writing for since May 2019 Frummi . She is ambitious to always check the best sources and to write the most qualified texts for our customers.

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