Redoxon, first marketed to the general public in 1934, is the brand name, and the original name, of the first artificially synthesized ascorbic acid (Vitamin C).
The product was developed by a team headed by chemist Tadeusz Reichstein, who discovered a method of synthesizing 30-40 g of vitamin C from 100 g of glucose. This used an intermediate step of creating sorbose using an ingenious bacterial fermentation method discovered by a French researcher, Gabriel Bertrand. In this method, fruit flies were attracted to a mixture of wine, vinegar, yeast bouillon, and sorbitol, a substance easily chemically prepared from glucose. Flies which fed upon sorbitol as a major food subtrate excreted bacteria which were able to synthesize sorbose from sorbitol. Using the bacteria, within a few days, it was possible to create 50 grams of sorbose using this method, and it was then easy to synthesise ascorbic acid from this. [1]
Despite concern about using the wild strain of bacteria for fermentation-production of sorbose, the process was superior to a rival method of Szent-Gyorgyi which isolated Vitamin C from capsicum. After sale of the Reichstein process patent to Hoffmann-La Roche, this process became the basis of the corporation's large-scale production of vitamin C.[1]
The commercial tablets are compounded from ascorbic acid and sodium bicarbonate. When these are added to water, they react to produce sodium ascorbate, water and carbon dioxide, thus producing a pleasant effervescence.[2]
Redoxon is made by Bayer.
Each Redoxon Vita Immune tablet contains:
Vitamin C 1000 mg Vitamin A 2333 IU Vitamin B6 6.5 mg Vitamin B12 9.6 ug Vitamin D 400 IU Vitamin E 45 mg Folic Acid 400 ug Zinc 10 mg Selenium 110 ug Copper 900 ug Iron 5 mg