1. Vitamin C
Ascorbic acid, also known as vitamin c (VC), CAS 50-81-7, chemical formula C6H8O, molecular weight 176.13.
Vitamin C is a white crystal or crystalline powder, odorless, sour, and yellowish for a long time. It is soluble in water, acidic, slightly soluble in ethanol, and insoluble in chloroform or ether.
Vitamin C is widely found in vegetables and fruits, so the upstream industry of vitamin C is mainly corn, soybean, and other crops, while its downstream is mainly used in medicine, animal feed, cosmetics, and the food additive industry. among them, the food additive industry is the most important, accounting for about 70%.
2. Physiological functions of vitamin c
a. Promote the biosynthesis of bone collagen, which is beneficial to the faster healing of tissue wounds.
b. Promote the metabolism of tyrosine and tryptophan in amino acids and prolong the life span of the body.
c. Improve the utilization of iron, calcium, and folic acid; improve the metabolism of lipids and lipids, especially cholesterol, and prevent cardiovascular disease.
d. Promote the growth of teeth and bones, prevent gums from bleeding, and prevent joint pain, and low back pain.
e. Enhance the body’s anti-stress ability and immunity to the external environment.
f. Water-soluble strong antioxidants mainly act in the aqueous solution of the body. g. Firm connective tissue; promote collagen synthesis and prevent gingival bleeding.
3. Vitamin C Manufacturers
The demand for vitamin c is the largest of the many vitamins, greater than 100,000 tons per year. More than 90% of its production capacity is in China, with a capacity of more than 200,000 tons. There is an overcapacity. The technical barriers to the production of vitamin c are low and there are many manufacturers.
The main vitamin c manufacturers are CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd, Shandong Luwei Pharmaceutical Group, DSM Jiangshan Pharmaceutical (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd, Shandong Tianli Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd, Northeast Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd, North China Pharmaceutical Group Corp, and Zhejiang NHU Co., Ltd. Among them, Jiangshan Pharmaceutical was acquired by DSM in 2015. Zhejiang NHU Co., Ltd is a new entrant, and the entry of 30,000 tons of vitamin C production capacity brings some impact on the vitamin C market pattern.
3.1 CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd
Established on May 18, 1994, and officially put into production in early 1996, CSPC Weisheng Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd is a foreign-funded pharmaceutical enterprise invested and built by CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. The company’s predecessor is one of the earliest manufacturers of vitamin C in China and has a history of more than 40 years of development so far. The company mainly produces more than twenty varieties of vitamin C and its series of products such as vitamin c sodium, vitamin c calcium, vitamin c coated, and vitamin c granule, which are widely used in medicine, food, feed, and health care products.
3.2 Shandong Luwei Pharmaceutical Group
Shandong Luwei Pharmaceutical Group, located in Zichuan, Zibo, Shandong Province, is a national high-tech enterprise and the head enterprise of vitamin c products. The main products include ascorbic acid, VC sodium, VC calcium, and VC ends products such as VC toothpaste, mask, and chewable tablets.
3.3 DSM Jiangshan Pharmaceutical (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd
Jiangsu Jiangshan Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd founded in 1990, is the world’s leading manufacturer of ascorbic acid raw materials and a major manufacturer of nutritional and health products in China. It was acquired by DSM in 2015.
3.4 Shandong Tianli Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd
Shandong Tianli Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd is a Sino-foreign joint venture, the backbone enterprise of Shandong Union Chemical Group Co., Ltd., founded in 1994, the main products are oral glucose, sorbitol (pharmaceutical grade, daily chemical grade, food grade), and mannitol and ascorbic acid. The technical level and production equipment are in the leading position at home and abroad, and it is the largest sorbitol production enterprise in China.
3.5 Northeast Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd
Northeast Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. (stock code: 000597) is a listed company of Liaoning Fangda Group Industrial Co., Ltd. The company, formerly known as Northeast Pharmaceutical Factory, was founded in 1946. The main products include vitamin C series, L-carnitine series, fosfomycin series, piracetam, carboprost methyl ester, amantadine, sucralfate, berberine, chloramphenicol, and so on.
3.6 North China Pharmaceutical Group Corp
North China Pharmaceutical Group Corp is located in Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei Province. Construction began in June 1953 and was completed and put into production in June 1958. After decades of development, the group’s main products are related to nearly 1000 standards in the fields of chemical pharmaceuticals, modern biotechnology drugs, vitamins and nutrition, health products, modern traditional Chinese medicine, biological agriculture, veterinary drugs, etc.
3.7 Zhejiang NHU Co., Ltd
Zhejiang NHU Co., Ltd was founded in 1999 and listed in 2004 (stock code 002001). Since its inception, the company has always adhered to the concept of innovation-driven development and growth in market competition, focusing on the R & D, production, sales, and service of functional chemicals such as nutrition, spices, polymer materials, and so on. Its main vitamin products include vitamin A, vitamin D3, vitamin E, biotin, ascorbic acid, and so on.
4. Production method of vitamin c
The most classical industrial production method of vitamin c is the Leigh method, the raw material is glucose, the product D-sorbitol is obtained by chemical hydrogenation, and then L-sorbitose is fermented by acetic acid bacteria, followed by chemical oxidation and ketogenation. 2-keto-L-gulonic acid was obtained by hydrolysis and then acidified by hydrochloric acid to get vitamin C. This process has many shortcomings and many working procedures, and a variety of flammable and toxic chemicals are used in the operation process, which is easy to pollute the environment.
At present, the two-step fermentation method of vitamin C is mainly used in China, which is pioneered by our country. The production of vitamin C by this method can be roughly divided into three steps: fermentation, extraction, and transformation. This method simplifies the Leigh method and avoids the use of a large number of toxic chemical agents in the production process, and the cost is reduced to a certain extent compared with the Leigh method.
5. Summary
The main manufacturers of ascorbic acid are CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd, Shandong Luwei Pharmaceutical Group, DSM Jiangshan Pharmaceutical (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd, Shandong Tianli Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd, Northeast Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd, North China Pharmaceutical Group Corp, Zhejiang NHU Co., Ltd. Among them, Jiangshan Pharmaceutical was acquired by DSM in 2015. Zhejiang NHU Co., Ltd is a new entrant, and the entry of 30,000 tons of vitamin C production capacity has a certain impact on the vitamin C market pattern.
The technical barrier to the production of ascorbic acid is low. At present, the two-step fermentation method of ascorbic acid is mainly used in China, which simplifies the Leigh method, and avoids the use of a large number of toxic chemical agents in the production process, and the cost has been reduced to a certain extent compared with the Leigh method.
