How is ascorbic acid synthesized?

Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), the antiscorbutic vitamin, cannot be synthesized by humans and other primates, and has to be obtained from diet. Ascorbic acid is an electron donor and acts as a cofactor for fifteen mammalian enzymes.

What does ascorbic acid react with?

It typically reacts with oxidants of the reactive oxygen species, such as the hydroxyl radical. On exposure to oxygen, ascorbic acid will undergo further oxidative decomposition to various products including diketogulonic acid, xylonic acid, threonic acid and oxalic acid.

What is the difference between L ascorbic acid and D ascorbic acid?

The circles indicate the only difference of the two molecules of a hydrogen atom in opposite stereo position. L-ascorbic acid prevents scurvy but D-ascorbic acid does not.

How is ascorbic acid oxidized?

Ascorbic acid is a well-known antioxidant and radical scavenger. It can be oxidized by losing two protons and two electrons, but normally loses only one electron at a time.

What is the reaction between ascorbic acid and oxygen?

It typically reacts with oxidants of the reactive oxygen species, such as the hydroxyl radical . Ascorbic acid is special because it can transfer a single electron, owing to the resonance-stabilized nature of its own radical ion, called semidehydroascorbate. The net reaction is:

How is ascorbic acid synthesized in prokaryotes?

Ascorbic acid is synthesised by eukaryotes, the known exceptions being primates and some other animal groups which have lost functional gulonolactone oxidase. Prokaryotes do not synthesise ascorbate and do not need an ascorbate supply, so the functions that are essential for mammals and plants are not required or are substituted by other compounds.

What happens when ascorbic acid reacts with potassium iodide?

This iodometric method has been revised to exploit reaction of ascorbic acid with iodate and iodide in acid solution. Electrolyzing the solution of potassium iodide produces iodine, which reacts with ascorbic acid.

How is ascorbic acid made From sorbose?

A second genetically modified microbe species, such as mutant Erwinia, among others, oxidises sorbose into 2-ketogluconic acid (2-KGA), which can then undergo ring-closing lactonization via dehydration. This method is used in the predominant process used by the ascorbic acid industry in China, which supplies 80% of world’s ascorbic acid.