Citric acid is an organic compound with the chemical formula H O C(CO2H)(CH2CO2H)2. It is a colorless weak organic acid. It occurs naturally in citrus fruits. In biochemistry, it is an intermediate in the citric acid cycle, which occurs in the metabolism of all aerobic organisms.
More than two million tons of citric acid are manufactured every year. It is used widely as an acidifier, as a flavoring, and a chelating agent.
A citrate is a derivative of citric acid; that is, the
salts,
esters, and the
polyatomic anion found in solutions and salts of citric acid. An example of the former, a salt is
trisodium citrate; an ester is
triethyl citrate. When citrate
trianion is part of a salt, the formula of the citrate trianion is written as C
6H
5O3−
7 or C
3H
5O(COO)3−
3.
Citric acid is an organic compound with the chemical formula H O C(CO2H)(CH2CO2H)2. It is a colorless weak organic acid. It occurs naturally in citrus fruits. In biochemistry, it is an intermediate in the citric acid cycle, which occurs in the metabolism of all aerobic organisms.
More than two million tons of citric acid are manufactured every year. It is used widely as an acidifier, as a flavoring, and a chelating agent.
A citrate is a derivative of citric acid; that is, the
salts,
esters, and the
polyatomic anion found in solutions and salts of citric acid. An example of the former, a salt is
trisodium citrate; an ester is
triethyl citrate. When citrate
trianion is part of a salt, the formula of the citrate trianion is written as C
6H
5O3−
7 or C
3H
5O(COO)3−
3.