What Did Sailors Use for Vitamin C? The Long Fight Against Scurvy

November 18, 2025 •

3 min read

Scurvy, a disease caused by a severe vitamin C deficiency, was a devastating scourge that is estimated to have killed over two million sailors throughout naval history. For centuries, seafaring crews used a variety of remedies and provisions, with varying degrees of success, in their long fight to find reliable sources of vitamin C while at sea.

Quick Summary

Sailors in the age of sail fought scurvy using methods from citrus fruits like lemons and oranges to sauerkraut and spruce beer. Their attempts were often hampered by inconsistent supply and a lack of scientific understanding regarding why certain treatments worked.

Key Points

Citrus fruits were the most effective remedy: James Lind's 1747 trial conclusively proved that oranges and lemons cured scurvy among sailors.
Not all citrus was equal: A later switch by the British Navy to cheaper West Indian limes proved less effective due to lower vitamin C content and boiling methods.
Sauerkraut and spruce beer were effective alternatives: Captain James Cook successfully used fermented cabbage (sauerkraut) and spruce beer to prevent scurvy in his crew.
Early remedies were based on observation, not science: Before the 20th century, sailors knew certain foods helped prevent scurvy, but they lacked the scientific knowledge of vitamin C's existence.
Boiling destroyed the vitamin: The process of boiling juice to preserve it for long voyages inadvertently destroyed the heat-sensitive vitamin C, rendering the product ineffective.
The discovery of ascorbic acid validated the remedies: The scientific isolation of vitamin C in the 1930s finally provided the modern explanation for why these historical remedies worked.

The Scourge of the Sea: Understanding Scurvy

For centuries, long sea voyages presented a deadly challenge: a lack of fresh food. Without access to fruits and vegetables, sailors were vulnerable to scurvy, a disease caused by a deficiency of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Symptoms were gruesome, including bleeding gums, loose teeth, joint swelling, fatigue, and internal hemorrhaging. The disease often resulted in death, crippling navies far more effectively than enemy fleets. Early naval rations were composed of durable but vitamin-deficient foods like salted meat and hardtack biscuits, inadvertently setting the stage for widespread malnutrition.

The Search for a Cure: Early Observations and Experimentation

Sailors and early medical practitioners noticed empirically that certain fresh foods could combat scurvy, though they didn't understand the underlying reason. One of the most famous early proponents of citrus was Sir Richard Hawkins, who wrote in 1622 that "sower lemons and oranges" were "most fruitful" for combating the disease. However, scientific theory at the time favored other ideas, and the widespread use of citrus would take over a century to be adopted.

James Lind's 1747 Clinical Trial

It was not until 1747 that Royal Navy surgeon James Lind conducted what is considered one of the first controlled clinical trials in medical history. Onboard HMS Salisbury, he took 12 men suffering from similar symptoms of scurvy and divided them into six pairs, giving each pair a different remedy. While treatments like cider, vinegar, and seawater failed, the two men given two oranges and one lemon daily showed dramatic improvement within a week. Despite this conclusive evidence, the British Admiralty was slow to implement the findings, only officially issuing lemon juice to its fleet beginning in 1795.

Beyond Citrus: The Role of Other Antiscorbutics

Not all successful scurvy remedies came from the Mediterranean. The famed explorer Captain James Cook was known for keeping his crews remarkably healthy on his voyages between 1768 and 1780. While he experimented with a range of items, his most famous remedies were sauerkraut and spruce beer. Sauerkraut, being fermented cabbage, retained some of its vitamin C content, while the brewing process for spruce beer created a beverage rich in the essential vitamin from pine needles. Cook's reputation as a leader who defeated scurvy cemented the importance of these alternate foods.

The Failure of Substitution

Knowledge regarding scurvy prevention was far from linear. A serious setback occurred in the 1860s when the British Admiralty, seeking a cheaper alternative, substituted West Indian limes for the more effective Sicilian lemons. This change was problematic for two main reasons: West Indian limes contain significantly less vitamin C than lemons, and the process of boiling the juice to preserve it destroyed much of the remaining vitamin content. The resulting resurgence of scurvy, particularly on Arctic expeditions, led to further tragic losses. This historical misstep gave rise to the enduring nickname for British sailors, 'Limeys'.

Comparison of Antiscorbutic Methods


Method	Primary Source	Effectiveness	Shelf Life/Preparation Challenges
Lemons/Oranges	Fresh citrus fruit	High	Spoil easily; effective when fresh, but potency lost with boiling.
Lime Juice	West Indian limes	Moderate to Low	Lower initial vitamin C than lemons; potency further destroyed by boiling.
Sauerkraut	Fermented cabbage	Moderate	Fermentation helps preserve some vitamin C, long storage possible.
Spruce Beer	Pine needles	Moderate	Freshly brewed, good for short-term voyages, not long-term storage.
Scurvy-grass	Wild plants	Moderate	Effective when fresh, but not suitable for long-term storage.

The Scientific Discovery of Vitamin C

Long after sailors had discovered the practical, if inconsistent, cures for scurvy, scientists identified the specific compound responsible. In 1928, Albert Szent-Györgyi isolated the substance he initially called "hexuronic acid," which was later renamed ascorbic acid (vitamin C). This discovery provided the scientific validation for centuries of empirical observations and confirmed the nutritional basis of scurvy. The isolation and eventual synthesis of vitamin C finally brought an end to the deadly threat of scurvy in modern navies.

Conclusion

The story of what sailors used for vitamin C is a long and winding tale of observational science, miscommunication, and eventual triumph. The bravery of sailors was constantly tested not only by the sea and their enemies but also by the invisible threat of a vitamin deficiency. From the early use of citrus to the later discovery of ascorbic acid, the journey to overcome scurvy reshaped naval history and laid the groundwork for modern nutritional science. The lessons learned from this fight—the importance of fresh provisions and the stability of vitamins—continue to inform health guidelines today.

Frequently Asked Questions

Scottish surgeon James Lind is famous for proving that citrus fruits cured scurvy in a controlled trial conducted on a British naval ship in 1747.

The term 'Limey' originated in the 19th century when the British Navy switched to cheaper, less potent West Indian limes instead of lemons to combat scurvy, and the practice of issuing lime juice became associated with British sailors.

The heat-sensitive nature of vitamin C means that the process of boiling citrus juice to preserve it for long voyages destroyed much of the vitamin, rendering it ineffective against scurvy.

Captain Cook successfully prevented scurvy in his crew by using a range of antiscorbutics, most famously sauerkraut and spruce beer, and by maintaining a clean ship and a focus on diet.

No, despite Lind's conclusive findings in 1747, it took over four decades for the British Admiralty to mandate the official issuance of lemon juice to sailors, a decision made in 1795.

Besides citrus, sailors sometimes used pine needles to brew a type of spruce beer, and wild plants like scurvy-grass were also identified as effective antiscorbutics.

Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, was not chemically identified and isolated until the 1930s by Albert Szent-Györgyi, though its effects had been observed empirically for centuries.