General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Rickety Woo [View all]Bernardo de La Paz
(48,955 posts)1. It takes 70 degrees Celsius to denature it. That's more than "a little heat".
2. Chemical reactions rarely proceed to 100% unless there are extremes of energy or time or a catalyst is present. Thus heating to 70 deg C will denature some, maybe even most of it, but not all of it.
3. When someone is telling an anecdote they do not necessarily use scientifically precise language. Thus it is possible that the Iroquois back in the 1600s gently steeped the pine bark without bringing it to a boil. We are reading about it third or fourth hand.
4. Even if it was boiling, a small amount of Vitamin C can survive. That can be enough to cure (greatly improve) scurvy, when the victim previously is not getting any.
5. Pasteurized orange juice is brought to near boiling or boiling and yet Vitamin C survives. That is distinct from flash pasteurized which is much quicker.
6. Did you read my posts? Some of these points I'm making for the third time and you haven't responded to them. However, at this point I'm losing interest.
7. The OP seems to be missing in action and has not cleared up a number of hanging questions and issues about his interesting story.