[4] A later study found that erythorbic acid is a potent enhancer of nonheme-iron absorption, just like ascorbate.

This is thought to be due to it exerting the same iron-reducing and iron-chelating activity as ascorbic acid.

Americans are estimated to ingest 200 mg of erythorbic acid per day, making it a very important factor in understanding iron absorption.

[7] Much like ascorbic acid, it increases nitrosylation of the central iron atom of muscle myoglobin, resulting in the formation of reddish-brown nitrosomyoglobin and the characteristic pink color of nitrosohemochrome or nitrosyl-heme upon cooking.

This is the original process developed in the 1960s, but it has low volumetric efficiency and glucose yield compared to the modern method.