What Is Citric Acid?
Updated on August 7, 2025
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Citric acid is a substance found naturally in citrus like lemons and limes, giving them their characteristic tart taste. Citric acid can also be created artificially.
But beyond its tangy appeal, citric acid has many surprising uses and benefits. It can help food last longer, your skin look brighter, or your cutlery look shinier. Citric acid can also help some medications taste better or become easier to swallow.
Definition of Citric Acid
Citric acid is a weak organic acid that can be found naturally in citrus like lemons and limes, some berries, and a few vegetables.
Citric acid can also be created artificially from lemons and limes, or by safely fermenting a fungus called Aspergillus niger, also known as black mold.
Uses of Citric Acid
Citric acid has many uses, from flavoring, preserving, and carbonating food and drinks (making them bubbly) to improving medications, cleaning products, or even personal care products such as cosmetics and bath bombs.
Is Citric Acid the Same as Vitamin C?
No, citric acid is not the same as vitamin C. Both citric acid and vitamin C are acids, but vitamin C is less acidic. Vitamin C is known as ascorbic acid. Ascorbic acid is a water-soluble vitamin, whereas citric acid is a weak tricarboxylic acid.
Ascorbic acid is also an essential nutrient, which means your body cannot produce it on its own and you must get it from your diet. By contrast, your body produces citric acid as part of your metabolism.
Both ascorbic and citric acids can be found in citrus and are associated with a sour, tart taste. However, ascorbic acid can be found in many fruits and vegetables besides citrus, such as berries, tomatoes, and green leafy vegetables, while natural sources of citric acid are more limited.
Health Benefits of Citric Acid
Citric acid has numerous health benefits:
- It helps bones stay strong and be less prone to fractures; it also helps your body create new bone cells and regenerate in case of fractures or injury.
- It helps your body absorb calcium better and prevents the formation of kidney stones.
- It may help boost immunity by promoting gut health. Citric acid helps increase the amount of friendly bacteria in the gut, and newer research suggests it helps strengthen the protective barrier in your intestines against harmful bacteria, as well as reducing inflammation.
- The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of citric acid may help improve the health of liver and brain cells.
- Finally, when applied topically on the skin, citric acid helps exfoliation, the ridding of dead skin cells. This process can make your skin look clearer and feel smoother.
Can Citric Acid Be Bad for You?
Citric acid can damage your sight if it comes in contact with your eyes. Citric acid can cause eye irritation, redness, blinking, and teariness. But in larger amounts, it can also cause severe damage to your corneas and even blindness.
If you're working in a lab or a factory handling citric acid in powder form, you need to be careful not to inhale it, as citric acid inhalation may cause respiratory problems in some people.
Eating and drinking foods with too much citric acid may cause your tooth enamel to erode over time, which may cause cavities and tooth decay in the long run. Ingesting too much citric acid may also cause stomach irritation, leading to diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting.
Foods That Have Citric Acid
Citric acid can be found naturally in citrus, especially in lemons and limes. Other natural sources of citric acid include (from higher to lower concentrations):
- Blackberries
- Grapefruit
- Oranges
- Raspberries
- Strawberries
- Pineapple
- Tomatoes
- Broccoli
- Carrots
- Some types of peppers
Artificial Citric Acid and Its Uses
Artificially created citric acid, also called manufactured citric acid, has a wide variety of uses.
Food Additives
Citric acid is commonly added to foods for various purposes. It can help regulate the acidity of foods, which means it can make some drinks effervesce (become fizzy) or help instant drinks dissolve in water.
Due to its antioxidant properties, citric acid can also help foods stay fresh longer. The compound also has antibacterial properties and can help enhance the flavor of foods. Finally, it can also serve as an emulsifier, helping to improve the texture of foods and making them smoother and more homogenized.
Cleaning Products
Many cleaning products contain citric acid because the effervescence of the compound helps dissolve hard water, and its antioxidant properties help get rid of stubborn stains like coffee and tea, discoloration (yellowing or browning), and watermarks. So you may find citric acid in your kitchen spray cleaners and dishwashing detergents.
Cosmetics and Personal Care
The beneficial effects of citric acid on the skin make it a popular addition to face creams and other beauty products. Citric acid is part of a group of compounds called alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs). Many clinical studies have shown that applying AHAs topically improves the skin's texture, reduces fine lines and wrinkles, and improves overall skin tone.
Also, citric acid and its salts (such as sodium citrate) are sometimes added to cosmetics to help balance the pH of these products and make them resemble that of natural skin, or to help preserve the cosmetics and make them last longer.
So you may find citric acid and its salts in:
- Hairspray
- Deodorant
- Body spray
- Lipstick
- Soap
Finally, the effervescence of citric acid helps bath tablets, bath salts, and bath bombs dissolve better in water.
Medical Uses and Pharmaceuticals
Citric acid has many medical uses. It's the active ingredient of some medications, as it helps destroy bacteria and improve skin infections. It is also sometimes combined with sodium citrate and potassium citrate (both citric acid salts) to make urine less acidic and prevent gout flare-ups.
Citric acid is also used to make other medications easier to swallow or take. It helps some drugs and supplements dissolve in the mouth or water, and gives some pills a nicer taste that masks the bitterness of the active ingredient. This is particularly helpful for elderly patients and people with swallowing difficulties.
The Takeaway
- Citric acid is an organic acid that is naturally and primarily found in citrus. It has many health benefits, from helping maintain healthy bones and a healthy gut to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that boost your immunity and help the cells in your body thrive.
- Citric acid is also artificially created by safely fermenting black mold or extracting it from citrus. Artificially manufactured citric acid is widely used as a food additive and in some cosmetics and personal care products. It helps foods, beverages, and cosmetics last longer, and makes some drinks and medications fizzy and tastier. It is also commonly found in some medications for your kidneys and skincare products.
- Citric acid can cause serious damage to your sight if it comes in contact with your eyes, and can contribute to tooth decay; if ingested in large quantities or inhaled as a powder, it can cause irritation in your stomach or lungs, respectively.
Resources We Trust
- Cleveland Clinic: Potassium Citrate; Citric Acid Solution
- American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology: Citric Acid and Citrus Allergy.
- National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements: Ingredient: Citric Acid
- EU Clinical Trials: Citric Acid: A Versatile Compound in Medical Applications
- Molecules: Citric Acid: Properties, Microbial Production, and Applications in Industries
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
- Lambros M et al. Citric Acid: A Multifunctional Pharmaceutical Excipient. Pharmaceutics. April 30, 2022.
- Citric Acid. ChemicalSafetyFacts.org. October 14, 2022.
- Blakeslee K. Citric Acid vs. Ascorbic Acid. Kansas State University. August 6, 2019.
- Vitamin C: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. July 31, 2025.
- Hu P et al. Citric Acid Promotes Immune Function by Modulating the Intestinal Barrier. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. January 19, 2024.
- Abdel-Salam OME et al. Citric acid effects on brain and liver oxidative stress in lipopolysaccharide-treated mice. Journal of Medicinal Food. May 1, 2014.
- Singh SK et al. Citric Acid, Antioxidant Effects in Health, in: Nabavi SM et al, eds. Antioxidants Effects in Health: The Bright and the Dark Side. 2022.
- Karwal K et al. Topical AHA in Dermatology: Formulations, Mechanisms of Action, Efficacy, and Future Perspectives. Cosmetics. September 19, 2023.
- Molecule of the Week: Citric Acid. American Chemical Society. April 4, 2022.
- Material Safety Data Sheet: Citric Acid MSDS. University of Pittsburgh NanoScale Fabrication and Characterization Facility. May 21, 2013.
- The American Dental Association. Diet and Tooth Decay. The Journal of the American Dental Association. April 2002.
- Książek E. Citric Acid: Properties, Microbial Production, and Applications in Industries. Molecules. December 19, 2023.
- Ciriminna R et al. Citric Acid: Emerging Applications of Key Biotechnology Industrial Product. Chemistry Central Journal. March 8, 2017.
Meet Our Experts
Melissa Sleight, RDN
Medical Reviewer
Member of American College of Lifestyle Medicine
Melissa Sleight, RDN, is a board-certified lifestyle medicine dietitian with over 15 years of experience. She has a passion for educating her clients about improving their health through nutrition and lifestyle changes, and seeing them motivated to improve their health each day.
Sleight earned her bachelor's in nutrition and food science from Utah State University. She is a member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine and the Sports, Cardiovascular, and Wellness Nutrition group for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She is involved at the local level as the president-elect of Magic Valley Dietitians and is a liaison for her community as a board member of the Idaho Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
She likes to cook and try new recipes, and loves water activities of all kinds — from paddleboards to hot tubs. She enjoys exploring the outdoors through hiking, on all-terrain vehicles, and camping.
Sleight earned her bachelor's in nutrition and food science from Utah State University. She is a member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine and the Sports, Cardiovascular, and Wellness Nutrition group for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She is involved at the local level as the president-elect of Magic Valley Dietitians and is a liaison for her community as a board member of the Idaho Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
She likes to cook and try new recipes, and loves water activities of all kinds — from paddleboards to hot tubs. She enjoys exploring the outdoors through hiking, on all-terrain vehicles, and camping.
Lesley Chen
Author
Lesley Chen is a San Francisco-based lifestyle writer/editor covering health and fitness.