AOAC SPIFAN Stakeholder Program Meeting Book (September 10, 2020)

Vitamin C, the antiscorbutic factor

In 1860, A. Hirsch expresses the suspicion that scurvy is due to a deficiency in a nutritional factor.

1907, animal feeding studies undertaken by Hirsch, Holst and Fröhlich on guinea pigs (equal to humans on their inability to synthetise vitamin C)

1925 Zilva obtained an active concentrate of the antiscorbutic factor named «vitamin C»

First isolation of vitamin C during studies of biological oxidation processes (1926), renamed hexuronic acid (1928) During the 30’s the identity of the two substances was announced, the first crytals produced from plant concentrates and the compound named «ascorbic acid»

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Source of illustrations Lemons: https://www.savibio.fr/fruits/42-citron-jaune.html

Vitamin C, structure and activity

OH

OH

O

OH

O

O

O

OH

H

H

OH OH

OH OH

L-ascorbic acid (AA) = 100 % vitamin C activity D-ascorbic acid = 0 % vitamin C activity

OH

O

OH

O

H

OH OH

L-isoascorbic acid = 0 % vitamin C activity D-isoascorbic acid (EA) = 5 % vitamin C activity

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Source of illustrations Lemons: https://www.savibio.fr/fruits/42-citron-jaune.html