Editing Vitamin C (section)

===Industrial synthesis===
{{Main|Chemistry of ascorbic acid}}
Vitamin C can be produced from [[glucose]] by two main routes. The no longer utilized [[Reichstein process]], developed in the 1930s, used a single fermentation followed by a purely chemical route. The modern two-step [[fermentation (biochemistry)|fermentation]] process, originally developed in [[China]] in the 1960s, uses additional fermentation to replace part of the later chemical stages. The Reichstein process and the modern two-step fermentation processes both use [[glucose]] as the starting material, convert that to [[sorbitol]], and then to [[sorbose]] using fermentation.<ref name="pmid23208776">{{cite journal | vauthors = Eggersdorfer M, Laudert D, Létinois U, McClymont T, Medlock J, Netscher T, Bonrath W | title = One hundred years of vitamins-a success story of the natural sciences | journal = Angewandte Chemie | volume = 51 | issue = 52 | pages = 12960–12990 | date = December 2012 | pmid = 23208776 | doi = 10.1002/anie.201205886 }}</ref> The two-step fermentation process then converts sorbose to 2-keto-l-gulonic acid (KGA) through another fermentation step, avoiding an extra intermediate. Both processes yield approximately 60% vitamin C from the glucose starting point.<ref name="Competition Commission-2001">{{cite web |url=http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/2001/fulltext/456a4.2.pdf |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120119194657/http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/2001/fulltext/456a4.2.pdf |url-status=usurped |archive-date=January 19, 2012 |title=The production of vitamin C |access-date=February 20, 2007 |year=2001 |publisher=Competition Commission }}</ref> Researchers are exploring means for one-step fermentation.<ref name="pmid33717042">{{cite journal |vauthors=Zhou M, Bi Y, Ding M, Yuan Y |title=One-step biosynthesis of vitamin C in Saccharomyces cerevisiae |journal=Front Microbiol |volume=12 |issue= |pages=643472 |date=2021 |pmid=33717042 |pmc=7947327 |doi=10.3389/fmicb.2021.643472 |url= | doi-access = free | title-link = doi }}</ref><ref name="pmid35996146">{{cite journal |vauthors=Tian YS, Deng YD, Zhang WH, Yu-Wang, Xu J, Gao JJ, Bo-Wang, Fu XY, Han HJ, Li ZJ, Wang LJ, Peng RH, Yao QH |title=Metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli for direct production of vitamin C from D-glucose |journal=Biotechnol Biofuels Bioprod |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=86 |date=August 2022 |pmid=35996146 |pmc=9396866 |doi=10.1186/s13068-022-02184-0 |url= | doi-access = free | title-link = doi |bibcode=2022BBB....15...86T }}</ref>

China produces about 70% of the global vitamin C market. The rest is split among European Union, India and North America. The global market is expected to exceed 141 thousand metric tons in 2024.<ref name="Vantage market research-2022">{{cite press release |url=https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2022/11/08/2550571/0/en/Global-Vitamin-C-Market-Size-Share-to-Surpass-1-8-Bn-by-2028-China-Produces-80-of-Commercial-Vitamin-C-Vantage-Market-Research.html |title=Vantage market research: global vitamin C market size & share to surpass $1.8 Bn by 2028 |date=November 8, 2022 |website=Globe Newswire |access-date=December 21, 2023 |archive-date=December 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231221215223/https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2022/11/08/2550571/0/en/Global-Vitamin-C-Market-Size-Share-to-Surpass-1-8-Bn-by-2028-China-Produces-80-of-Commercial-Vitamin-C-Vantage-Market-Research.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Cost per metric ton (1000&nbsp;kg) in US dollars was $2,220 in Shanghai, $2,850 in Hamburg and $3,490 in the US.<ref name="ChemAnalyst-2023">{{cite web |url=https://www.chemanalyst.com/Pricing-data/vitamin-c-1258 |title=Vitamin C price trend and forecast |date=September 2023 |website=ChemAnalyst |access-date=December 21, 2023 |archive-date=December 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231221215224/https://www.chemanalyst.com/Pricing-data/vitamin-c-1258 |url-status=live }}</ref>