Vitamin C

Among the earliest known anti-scorbut are Cochilaria officinalis and C. danica which are supposed to have been used already by the vikings.

Vitamin C was not discovered until 1919 by Jack Cecil Drummond, and isolated by Albert Szent-Györgyi. The ascorbic acid was syntisized in 1933 by Reichstein, Grüssner, and Haworth.

The recommended daily allowance is 60 mg of ascorbic acid. A little under 10 mg of ascorbic acid per day is recommended for adults to prevent scurvy. Vegetables loose 60 % of the vitamin C content during cooking. [Ciba Geyer]

Vitamin C Content

100 grammes	C mg	C mg	C mg
Orange	50	34	68
Lemon	44	40	48
Lime	37
Pineapple	17
Wine	-	-	-
Beer	-	-	-
Malt	-	-	-
Wort	-	-	-
Condensed soup	-	-	-
Tallstrunt (tallskott)	-	-	-
Berberis berries	-	-	-
Berberis juice	-	-	-
Sauerkraut	-	14	18
Watercress	79	-	-
Horseraddish	81	-	-
Salt meat	-	-	-
Fresh meat	-		-
Salt pork	-
Fresh pork	-
Bread, white	-
Bread, brown	-
Bread, hard	-

[Britt Aniansson, Statens Livsmedelsverk, Upsala.]

100 grammes	C mg
Rob [Reduced orange or lemon juice]	60
Scurvy grass [Cochelaria officinalis & C. danica]	200
Spruce beer	<0,5
Dr Stevens Water
Pumpkin
Arrowroot or kassava.

[R.E. Hughes]

100 grammes	C mg
Orange juice	50
Lemon juice	40
Lime juice	20
Brussels sprouts	30
Apple juice	5
Lettuce	15
Sauerkraut	10
Malt	Trace only

[After Meiklejohn, Passmore, and Stewart]

100 grammes	C mg
Apples, dried	5
Lemons	45
Lime	32
Oranges	50
Prunes, dried	3
Raisins, dried	1
Garlic	9
Onions	10
Onions, dried	35
Potatoes	20
Potatoes, winter	4
Sauerkraut	14
Hazelnuts	7,5
Bread	0
Cocoa	0
Tea	1
Beer	0
Rum	0
Wine	0
Butter	0
Cheese, Cheddar	10
Beef, salted	0
Cod	2
Herring	0

Updated 1999-01-13 by Lars Bruzelius

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