L-ASCORBIC ACID MANUFACTURING PLANT

Ascorbic acid, commonly known as vitamin C plays significant functions in the human body, though its function at the cellular level is not very clear. Vitamin C is needed for collagen synthesis, the protein that serves so many connective functions in the body.
Among the body’s collagen-containing materials and structures are the framework of bone, gums and binding materials in skin muscle or scar tissue. Production of certain hormones and of neurotransmitters and the metabolism of some amino acids and vitamins require vitamin C. This vitamin also helps the liver in the detoxification of toxic substances in the system, and the blood in fighting infections. Ascorbic acid is important in the proper function of the immune system. As an antioxidant, it reacts with compounds like histamines and peroxides to reduce inflammatory symptoms. Its antioxidant property is associated with the reduction of cancer incidences.
The requirement for vitamin C for adults does not seem to be uniform across cultures. This may be a pointer to the need for cultural-specific requirements for the nutrient. It has now been appreciated that ascorbic acid functions in cellular reactions and processes.
Epidemiological data now point to reduction of colds with increased consumption of foods rich in vitamin C . People are tempted to over-consume vitamin C because of its health benefits. Miniscule increases in blood vitamin C levels decrease the risk of death from all conditions. This paper presents a review of epidemiological data on the role of ascorbic acid in certain human health conditions. Though there are many functions of vitamin C, its role in health is discussed in relation to cancer, blood pressure, immunity, drug metabolism and urinary hydroxyproline excretion.

Everyone has heard of vitamin C. There can be few simple organic molecules which have excited such universal interest. At least part of the reason for this has been the general interest in the beneficial effects of all vitamins and other trace substances on human health which has developed in recent years along with concern on the effects of other substances, particularly additives, on those who consume food containing them. We know that vitamins are essential to our wellbeing and because of this they have excited an interest and curiosity which has resulted in many of them being attributed with disease healing and health-giving properties which they could not possibly have, Vitamin C has itself been said to have almost magical properties by some writers and it is useful to get a picture of the chemistry and biochemistry of this enigmatic compound.
Vitamin C is different. It is different from the other vitamins and we shall see in the course of this book that its chemistry and biochemistry single it out amongst molecules in many important ways, Vitamin C is ubiquitous. It is found throughout the plant and animal kingdoms, where its roles are often not known or are poorly understood. The synthetic vitamin is very widely used as a food additive and therefore has an E number (E300). However, unlike many other additives, few people would object to its presence in foods. There is no doubt that its anti-oxidant properties confer stability on foods to which it has been added.
Vitamin C has been the subject of frequent controversy, even before its nature had been established. Its role (as a constituent of fruits and vegetables) in the cure and prevention of scurvy was widely debated for hundreds of years. Its very existence was doubted by many even as recently as the beginning of the twentieth century. There were quarrels over who was the first to discover it. Even today there is much controversy about the exact role of the vitamin in human health and there is not even agreement over the amount of the vitamin which needs to be consumed for optimum wellbeing, with various authorities recommending amounts varying from 30 mg to 10 g per day.