What Are the Causes of Oxidation of Ascorbic Acid?

Ascorbic acid, commonly known as vitamin C, is a necessary nutrient to the human body, and can be found in many fruits and vegetables. Ascorbic acid is used in lotions for the skin, soaps, and hair gels. However, ascorbic acid is also liable to oxidation, which causes a transformation to dehydroascorbic acid -- which is also necessary to the body and can be helpful to skin, hair and eyes.

What Is Oxidation?

• When a nail rusts or an apple turns brown, it is going through oxidation. When ascorbic acid oxidizes it turns into dehydroascorbic acid. The process of oxidation requires at least two elements, but does not necessarily require oxygen. Oxidation is the process of two chemicals or substances interacting where one of the substances loses at least one electron. The electron loss changes the appearance or characteristics of the oxidized material.

Ascorbic Acid Oxidation

• Ascorbic acid undergoes oxidation when it interacts with either hexachloroiridate or hexabromoiridate. These chemicals then either interact with ascorbic acid separately or together in a process that removes electrons and changes the value of ascorbic acid so that it loses two hydrogen molecules and changes from C6H8O6 to C6H6O6. Ascorbic acid is often oxidized within the human body, and these chemicals are prevalent in the intestine and can be found in many everyday foods. While ascorbic acid oxidation happens in the body; it also happens during the fermentation of fruits and vegetables such as apples.

Use of Oxidized Ascorbic Acid

• Because vitamin C is water soluble, it becomes mixed with saliva and other fluids within the human mouth and intestine. It is here that it first begins oxidation into dehydroascorbic acid, which is spread more easily throughout the body. The dehydroascorbic acid enters the bloodstream through glucose transporters and then is used by the body to break down and reduce glucose into necessary vitamins for the body.

Deoxidation

• Because the oxidation of ascorbic acid is a simple process, it is also very easily reversed by interaction with the chemicals (glutathione and other thiols) that are commonly found in glucose. The body then stores deoxidized vitamin C in blood vessels and various fluids until they are removed from the body by natural causes.