Citric acid, a colourless, crystalline organic compound belonging to the family of carboxylic acids, present in practically all plants and in many animal tissues and fluids. It is one of a series of compounds involved in the physiological oxidation of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates to carbon dioxide and water. First isolated from lemon juice by a Swedish chemist, Carl Wilhelm Scheele, in 1784, citric acid is
Citric acid, a colourless, crystalline organic compound belonging to the family of carboxylic acids, present in practically all plants and in many animal tissues and fluids. It is one of a series of compounds involved in the physiological oxidation of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates to carbon dioxide and water. First isolated from lemon juice by a Swedish chemist, Carl Wilhelm Scheele, in 1784, citric acid is