Ascorbic acid

Ascorbic acid is a sugar acid. It is white to light-yellow in colour, and comes in the form of crystals or powder. It can dissolve in water. Ascorbic acid was the first chemical compound to be synthesized, and identified, as vitamin C. Other types of vitamin C are salts and esters of ascorbic acid.

Name

The name is derived from a- (meaning "no") and scorbutus (scurvy), the disease caused by a deficiency of vitamin C.

Chemistry

Ascorbic acid is a type of organic acid called a reductone. Unlike many other organic acids, it is not a carboxylic acid but an enediol.[1]

Sources

  1. ↑ International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. "Reductones". Compendium of Chemical Terminology Internet edition.
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