How is it made?
“Good sources of vitamin C are fresh fruits and vegetables, especially citrus fruits."(Medline Plus, 2011). These are raw materials we get through agriculture. For example; farms, orchards, greenhouses, nurseries and other places that grow crops, plants or trees are some of the many ways we get our food (fruits, vegetables and grains) through agriculture.
"Vitamin C can also be made in a laboratory." (Medline Plus, 2011)
"Most vitamins cannot be made by the body, such as vitamin C.
They must be taken in as food. The best sources most obviously are whole foods, rich in vitamins. Because of soil depletion, mineral depletion, pesticides, air pollution, and erosion, it is common knowledge that foods grown in American soil today have only a fraction of the nutrient value of 50 years ago. That means a fraction of the vitamins and minerals necessary for normal human cell function." (Decava, 2014)
“Good sources of vitamin C are fresh fruits and vegetables, especially citrus fruits."(Medline Plus, 2011). These are raw materials we get through agriculture. For example; farms, orchards, greenhouses, nurseries and other places that grow crops, plants or trees are some of the many ways we get our food (fruits, vegetables and grains) through agriculture.
"Vitamin C can also be made in a laboratory." (Medline Plus, 2011)
"Most vitamins cannot be made by the body, such as vitamin C.
They must be taken in as food. The best sources most obviously are whole foods, rich in vitamins. Because of soil depletion, mineral depletion, pesticides, air pollution, and erosion, it is common knowledge that foods grown in American soil today have only a fraction of the nutrient value of 50 years ago. That means a fraction of the vitamins and minerals necessary for normal human cell function." (Decava, 2014)
(HelloDoctorHD, 2012)
Here's a video on how most vitamin supplements are made. In this example, it is Omega-3, but Vitamin C goes through the same process.
"The synthesis of ascorbic acid was discovered by Reichstein in 1933, followed by industrial production of ascorbic acid two years later by Roche. Today, Vitamin C is produced on a very large industrial scale. One of the world’s leading ascorbic acid production centers is DSM Nutritional Products in Dalry, Scotland, UK.
The ultimate raw material for the production of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is corn or wheat. This is converted from starch to glucose by specialist companies, and then to sorbitol. The pure final products are produced from sorbitol in a series of biotechnical, chemical processing and purification steps."(Quali-C, 2014)
"Vitamin C, produced by glucose, is formed by two different routes. The Reichstein process, developed in the 1930s, uses a single pre-fermentation followed by a decently chemical route. The modern two-step fermentation process, originally made in China in the 1960s, uses additional fermentation to replace part of the later chemical stages. Both processes yield about 60% vitamin C from the glucose feed."(News Medical, 2013)
Steps from Glucose to Vitamin C
"glucose (1) ---> sorbitol (2) --->fermentation---> sorbose (3) --->fermentation---> ketogluconic acid (5) ---> ascorbic acid (6) "
(De Tullio, 2010)
The ultimate raw material for the production of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is corn or wheat. This is converted from starch to glucose by specialist companies, and then to sorbitol. The pure final products are produced from sorbitol in a series of biotechnical, chemical processing and purification steps."(Quali-C, 2014)
"Vitamin C, produced by glucose, is formed by two different routes. The Reichstein process, developed in the 1930s, uses a single pre-fermentation followed by a decently chemical route. The modern two-step fermentation process, originally made in China in the 1960s, uses additional fermentation to replace part of the later chemical stages. Both processes yield about 60% vitamin C from the glucose feed."(News Medical, 2013)
Steps from Glucose to Vitamin C
"glucose (1) ---> sorbitol (2) --->fermentation---> sorbose (3) --->fermentation---> ketogluconic acid (5) ---> ascorbic acid (6) "
(De Tullio, 2010)
Vitamin C crystal in polarized light (Quali-C, 2014)