The role of citric acid in food

Before we get into the many ways in which citric acid is used in everyday life for cooking and medicine, let's take a look at the wide range of uses for citric acid. Citric acid is used in many different ways and can be found in unexpected places.

Citric acid is widely distributed in the plant world, such as in lemons, currants, raspberries, grape juice, etc. It can be extracted from plant raw materials, and can also be made from sugar by citric acid fermentation.

1. Used in the food industry; because of its mild and refreshing acidity, citric acid is commonly used in the manufacture of various beverages, soft drinks, wine, confectionery, snacks, biscuits, canned fruit juices, dairy products and other food products. In the market of all organic acids, citric acid has a market share of over 70%, and there is no acidifier that can replace citric acid so far.

2, for chemical and textile industry: citric acid in chemical technology can be used as reagents for chemical analysis, as experimental reagents, chromatographic analysis reagents and biochemical reagents; used as complexing agents, masking agents; used to prepare buffer solutions.

Formaldehyde pollution of garments is already a very sensitive issue, citric acid and modified citric acid can be made into a formaldehyde-free anti-wrinkle finishing agent, used for cotton fabrics anti-wrinkle finishing. Not only good anti-wrinkle effect, and low cost.

3, for environmental protection: citric acid - sodium citrate buffer for flue gas desulphurization. Citric acid - sodium citrate buffer solution due to its low vapor pressure, non-toxic, chemically stable, high absorption rate of SO2, is a very valuable development of desulfurization absorbent.

4、Used in livestock production: adding citric acid to piglet feed can wean the piglets earlier, improve the feed utilization rate by 5% to 10% and increase the litter size of sows. Adding 1%-2% citric acid to the diet of growing fattening pigs can improve daily weight gain, reduce meat ratio, improve protein digestibility, reduce back fat thickness and improve meat quality and carcass characteristics.

5、Used in cosmetics: Citric acid is a kind of fruit acid, the main role is to accelerate the renewal of keratin, commonly used in lotions, creams, shampoos, whitening products, anti-aging products, acne products, etc.. The renewal of keratin helps the skin in the melanin flaking, pore refinement, blackhead dissolution, etc.

6, for sterilization: enjoy the "king of western food" reputation of lemon has a strong sterilization effect, very good for food hygiene, coupled with the fresh smell of lemon, people traditionally like to use it to make cold dishes, not only delicious and refreshing, but also can enhance appetite.

7, Used in medicine: Citric acid is used as an in vitro anticoagulant in blood transfusion or laboratory blood sample anticoagulation.

8, medicinal value.

(1) Citric acid has the effect of preventing and eliminating skin pigmentation. According to Chinese traditional medicine, lemon is warm, bitter and non-toxic, and has the functions of quenching thirst and generating body fluid, dispelling summer heat and calming the fetus, draining stagnation, strengthening the stomach and relieving pain, etc. It is diuretic and regulates vascular permeability and is suitable for girls with swelling and deficiency.

At the same time, smokers should eat more lemons because they need two times more vitamin C than non-smokers. Lemons are low in calories and have strong contractile properties, making them good for fat reduction and a weight loss remedy. Lemons prevent cardiovascular atherosclerosis and reduce blood viscosity. Hot lemon juice with honey is very effective in the treatment of bronchitis and nasopharyngitis. Sweet ground moistens the lungs, sour ground quenches thirst, appetises and detoxifies alcohol, whitens, emollient and lowers cholesterol. Brew the remainder and apply to the face to treat facial spots and pimples.

(2) Expelling phlegm: Even less well known is that lemons can also expel phlegm and are more effective than oranges and mandarins. Drinking lemon juice with warm water and salt is a great way of coughing up phlegm that has accumulated in the throat. At the beginning of a cold, drink lemon and honey to relieve a sore throat and reduce dryness.

In addition, drinking a glass of lemon water every morning before eating any food can not only enhance bowel movement, treat constipation, expel toxins from the body, achieve beauty benefits, but also remove bad breath and eliminate bad breath.