Is There Danger Of Taking Vitamin C That Have Change Colour?

Vitamin C color change

Vitamin c is a supplement for treating scurvy. It is also believed to improve immunity against infection. It is available in tablet, syrup, capsule and other suitable forms.

There is a lot of confusion as to the original colour of vitamin otherwise known as ascorbic acid. Because of its super abundant quantity in orange, so many people attribute the colour orange to it. Pure vitamin c is clear or colourless. The final colour of white or orange in the tablet or syrups etc is due to the excipients added. That is why the final colour of each batch varies almost all the time.

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Over time, the colour of vitamin c changes. The colour change can occur inside the seal pack or during use. The colour change is attributed to degradation due to oxidation reaction.

How Vitamin C Degrades

The colour change is due to oxidation reaction whereby oxygen is absorbed. The resulting product is called dehydro-L-ascorbic acid (DHAA). This product can be converted back to ascorbic acid but there is no natural process for it.

Factors That Affect Vitamin C Degradation

Heat, light and air are the cause of vitamin c degradation. A poorly package vitamin c product with air inside will degrade even without opening the seal. And open product degrades faster when they are open in moist environment or in direct sunlight. Packaging and storage condition matters a lot.

What Is DHAA To The Body

DHAA is not going to act like ascorbic acid or vitamin c. It is more abundant in nature than ascorbic acid. That makes it safe and not dangerous. It also has some beneficial activities. It acts as an antioxidant. It helps to transport ascorbic acid into cells. The DHAA is converted back to ascorbate with the eventual release of essential enzyme cofactors and intracellular antioxidant inside the cell.

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So can one take a degraded vitamin c syrup or capsule or tablet? Since some of the vitamin c will still be available and DHAA is also has a role to play in the body, it is not a bad idea. However, too much of every product even good ones in the body is bad. When the product changes, it becomes difficult to say the quantity of vitamin c or DHAA present in the product.

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