It seems like more and more people are getting sick recently! This is definitely not a good thing, especially since everyone, including me, has a lot of work coming up. Taking an extra measure to ensure I don’t get catch whatever bacteria or virus is going around, I took a few tablets of Airborne over the last few days. Not surprisingly, it is mostly vitamin C, in fact 1667% of our suggested daily value – perhaps a little much. Vitamin C is also known as L-ascorbic acid (a chiral molecule!) or ascorbate under certain conditions. These conditions depend on pH, so ascorbic acid usually exists as an anion within the body as well.
The reason why vitamin C is so essential to our well-being is because it is a cofactor in enzymatic reactions, which we’ve learned about in class. It is a reducing agent, so it donates electrons in these reactions. In addition to this critical vitamin, Airborne also contains an amino acid blend of L-lysine hydrochloride and L-glutamine. Both are obviously important components to the body’s proteins and promote healthy body functions and immune resistance. They also give the tablets their effervescent property by being pH sensitive. It’s amazing how much our bodies rely on small tweaks of biochemical activity to stay healthy. Like the parts of a well-tuned machine, it is these microscopic amino acids and molecules that guide our bodily functions and ensure that we are running smoothly.