SHEET /m/citric-acid · PubChem CID 311 · CAS 77-92-9 · REV 2026.07
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Citric acid from source
C6H8O7 · 192.12 g/mol
2-hydroxypropane-1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid · Citric acid, anhydrous · Aciletten · Anhydrous citric acid
weak organic acid
CategoryFood & flavor
Fig. 1 · 2D structure RDKit
C(C(=O)O)C(CC(=O)O)(C(=O)O)O
Where you'll find it
Not yet mapped to everyday foods or products.
The dose makes the poison inferred
A reported rat oral LD50 for Citric acid is 3,000 mg/kg, the dose lethal to half the animals tested. Scaled by body mass alone:
210.0 g
a median lethal dose scaled to 154 lb (210,000 mg)
“The dose makes the poison” is a cross-species estimate shown as neutral science, not a threshold anyone should act on. Real toxicity depends on the person, not body mass alone.
Toxicity & hazards
Toxicity · LD50
3,000 mg/kg · very low toxicity · LD50 rat oral from source
The dose lens above scales this to a body weight.
3 more reported values
- 5,040 mg/kgLD50 · oral · mouse
- 6,730 mg/kgLD50 · oral · rat
- 42 mg/kgLD50 · iv · mouse
WarningIrritantH315, H319, H335from source
Keep roaming
Where Citric acid leads
Found infrom source