Citric acid

Toxicity

ORAL (LD50): Acute: 5040 mg/kg [Mouse]. 3000 mg/kg [Rat].

Description

Citric acid is a white, crystalline, weak organic acid present in most plants and many animals as an intermediate in cellular respiration. Citric acid contains three carboxyl groups making it a carboxylic, more specifically a tricarboxylic, acid.the name citrus originates from the Greek kedromelon meaning apple of melon for the fruit citron. Greek works mention kitron, kitrion, or kitreos for citron fruit, which is an oblong fruit several inches long from the scrublike tree Citrus medica. Lemons and limes have high citric acid content, which may account for up to 8% of the fruit's dry weight.

Citric acid is a weak acid and loses hydrogen ions from its three carboxyl groups (COOH) in solution.the loss of a hydrogen ion from each group in the molecule results in the citrate ion,C3H5O(COO)₃3. A citric acid molecule also forms intermediate ions when one or two hydrogen atoms in the carboxyl groups ionize.the citrate ion combines with metals to form salts, the most common of which is calcium citrate. Citric acid forms esters to produce various citrates, for example trimethyl citrate and triethyl citrate.

Description

Citric acid is an important natural compound that has been known since the late 18th century. The pioneering Swedish–German chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele isolated it from lemon juice in 1784. It has since been found in other citrus fruits, pineapples, and even animal tissues.
Citric acid is a major industrial chemical, produced at >2 million t/year worldwide. Its main source is not from fruit, but from the fermentation of crude sugars (e.g., molasses and corn starch) by the mold Aspergillus niger. It has a myriad of uses, mostly in foods and pharmaceuticals; these uses include acidifying agent/pH adjustment, antioxidant, flavoring agent, and as metal salts in dietary supplements. In industry and domestic applications, citric acid is a chelating and buffering agent in many cleaning products and a starting material for synthesizing citrate esters, itaconic acid, acetonedicarboxylic acid, and other compounds.
Biochemists are familiar with the citric acid cycle, which is a major life process in all respiring organisms. Also called the Krebs cycle or the tricarboxylic acid cycle, the process begins with sugar-derived pyruvate, which enzymatically generates acetyl-coenzyme A (CoA) to start the cycle. Acetate released from acetyl-CoA reacts with oxaloacetic acid produced at the end of the previous cycle to form citric acid; this is followed by several steps, during which an oxidation reaction releases energy to the body in the form of adenosine triphosphate.
Many scientists contributed to the discovery and establishment of the citric acid cycle. The two key researchers were Albert Szent-Gy?rgyi at the University of Szeged (Hungary) and Hans Adolf Krebs at the University of Sheffield (UK); they were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1937 and 1953, respectively.

Description

Citric acid is a weak organic acid containing three carboxylic acid functional groups. In organic chemistry it is generally used as an aqueous solution during aqueous work-ups.

The Uses of Citric acid

citric acid has astringent and anti-oxidant properties. It can also be used as a product stabilizer, pH adjuster, and preservative with a low sensitizing potential. It is not usually irritating to normal skin, but it can cause burning and redness when applied to chapped, cracked, or otherwise inflamed skin. It is derived from citrus fruits.

The Uses of Citric acid

A mixture of the SM (36.8 g, 0.12 mol), aq 2N NaOH (850 mL) and dioxane (170 mL) were stirred at 50 C for 24 h. The reaction mixture was cooled to RT, diluted with EtOAc (1.0 L), and acidified to pH 1 using aq 4N HCl. The resulting precipitate was filtered, washed with H2O, and dried in vacuo to provide the product as an off-white solid. [25.4 g]

Background

A key intermediate in metabolism. It is an acid compound found in citrus fruits. The salts of citric acid (citrates) can be used as anticoagulants due to their calcium-chelating ability.
Citric acid is one of the active ingredients in Phexxi, a non-hormonal contraceptive agent that was approved by the FDA on May 2020. It is also used in combination with magnesium oxide to form magnesium citrate, an osmotic laxative.

What are the applications of Application

Citric Acid, Anhydrous is used in the preparation of citrate buffer for antigen and epitope unmasking in IHC

Metabolism

Not Available