Roll Call

“Anhydrous citric acid?”Here!citric acid

Varies by source

Appears in 1 scanned product.

As a supplement

Talk to your doctor or pharmacist.

Roll Call does not check drug interactions or assess personal safety.

A water-free form of citric acid, a naturally occurring acid found in citrus fruits and also produced industrially by fermentation. In supplements it functions as an acidulant, flavoring agent, and pH adjuster rather than as an active ingredient.

Why it’s used

Added to adjust tartness, balance flavor, or stabilize the pH of a formulation, and sometimes to help effervescent tablets fizz when combined with a carbonate or bicarbonate.

What the evidence says

There is no efficacy question here because it is not taken for a health effect; it is a formulation ingredient. Citric acid has a long history of use in foods and supplements, and food-grade use is well established as generally recognized as safe by regulatory bodies.

Where we looked

There was no paper to cite here, so this is the search instead — run it yourself and see what we saw.

  • PubMed: 6 records · searched September 2026"Anhydrous citric acid"[Title/Abstract] AND (review[pt] OR "safety assessment"[Title/Abstract] OR "risk assessment"[Title/Abstract] OR toxicology[Title/Abstract] OR toxicity[Title/Abstract] OR characterization[Title/Abstract] OR characterisation[Title/Abstract])
  • PubMed: 0 records · searched September 2026"Anhydrous citric acid"[Title/Abstract] AND ("dietary supplements"[MeSH] OR supplementation[Title/Abstract] OR supplement[Title/Abstract] OR supplements[Title/Abstract] OR "oral administration"[Title/Abstract]) AND (randomized controlled trial[pt] OR clinical trial[pt] OR meta-analysis[pt] OR systematic review[pt]) AND humans[MeSH]
  • PubMed: 44 records · searched September 2026"Anhydrous citric acid"[Title/Abstract]

This says what this database holds under these terms. It is not a finding that no research exists.

Context

Amounts used are whatever a formulator needs for taste or pH, not a dose studied for any physiological outcome.

Insufficient dataToo little has been studied to say either way.

Rumors

  1. Citric acid prevents kidney stones from forming and from growing.

    We haven’t found evidence strong enough to support this or rule it out.

    What was measured is not yet noted.

    Who’s saying this

    • Associates in Nephrology — a professional body or practice: nephrology (kidney care) medical practice in Brockton & Taunton, MA
      How we know who this is
      • “The board-certified nephrologists at Associates in Nephrology have the specialized training and experience needed to diagnose and treat the full spectrum of kidney diseases and related conditions.” (their page)