Mineral ascorbates

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Ascorbic acid

Mineral ascorbates are salts of ascorbic acid (aka vitamin C). They are powders manufactured by reacting ascorbic acid with mineral carbonates in aqueous solutions, venting the carbon dioxide, drying the reaction product, and then milling the dried product to the desired particle size.

The choice of the mineral carbonates can be calcium carbonate, potassium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, magnesium carbonate, or many other mineral forms. Ascorbates are highly reactive antioxidants used as food preservatives.

Ascorbate salts may be better tolerated than the corresponding weakly acidic ascorbic acid.

Examples of mineral ascorbates are:

Sodium ascorbate (E301)
Calcium ascorbate (E302)
Potassium ascorbate (E303)
Magnesium ascorbate

A study found ascorbates (as magnesium or calcium ascorbate) to be a very effective chelator of aluminium, especially when the aluminium was bound to brain cell DNA.^{[citation needed]} Taking higher doses of ascorbate with magnesium citramate increased the removal of aluminium.^{[citation needed]}