What is Fulvic Acid?

Where does the name “Fulvic” acid come from?

Fulvic acid derives its name from a Latin word fulvus, indicating deep yellow, reddish yellow, golden or tawny, yellowish-brown colour.

Fulvic Acid – Substance Critical for Life

Fulvic acid is truly a remarkable natural compound. Not well known to general public but studied extensively by scientists and researchers around the world, it is a substance as critical to life as oxygen, water and sun rays. Plants would not be able to exist without fulvic acid and, with no plants, there would be no animal and human life on earth.

Fulvic acid is found in soil and plants, where it carries out two indispensable functions: to absorb from soil minerals and trace elements and all nutritional and remedial components left there by microbial action, and to transfer this valuable content into plants cells, where it is metabolised and used for healthy growth. When plants die and eventually decompose, they return their mineral, nutritional and remedial value, fulvic acid including, back to soil and the cycle repeats itself again.

Just as it works for plants, fulvic acid has a very similar action, and an associated spectrum of outstanding benefits, for humans and animals – all life forms on earth share very similar building blocks: living cells.

FulvicForce fulvic acid is a natural supplement second to none. It carries mineral, nutritional and remedial value of ancient plants, delivered right inside living cells of the body. It is for everyone: healthy and active people looking for energy, wellbeing and protection, sport people striving for increased endurance, quicker recovery and guarding against injuries, as well as people afflicted with different, often serious, conditions.

Read more about fulvic acid, below: about its classification, origin, chemical composition and general properties, and elsewhere on this website: about its specific benefits in human and animal life. References to research papers, scientific studies and clinical reports are provided in this section (general properties of fulvic acid), sections focusing on specific benefits of fulvic acid, and in RESEARCH page at this website, where they are collected and organised into specific topics.

Classification of Fulvic Acid

Fulvic acid is classified as a part of humic substances, but what are they? The following summary is based on a paper: Humic & Fulvic Acids: The Black Gold of Agriculture?

Soil organic matter is frequently said to consist of humic substances and non-humic substances.

Non-humic substances are all those materials that can be placed in one of the categories of discrete compounds such as sugars, amino acids, fats and so on.

Humic substances are the other, unidentifiable components. Generally, humic substances are considered as a series of relatively high molecular weight, brown to black coloured substances formed by secondary synthesis reactions. The term is used as a generic name to describe coloured material or its fractions obtained on the basis of solubility characteristics: the fraction called humic acids is not soluble in water under acidic conditions (pH < 2) but is soluble at higher pH values.

They can be extracted from soil by various reagents. Humic acids are the major extractable component of soil humic substances. They are dark brown to black in colour; the fraction called fulvic acids is soluble in water under all pH conditions. They remain in solution after removal of humic acid by acidification. Fulvic acids are light yellow to yellow-brown in colour; finally the fraction called humins is not soluble in water at any pH value. Humins are black in colour.

Many experts now believe that all dark coloured humic substances are part of a system of closely related, but not completely identical, high molecular weight polymers. According to this concept, differences between humic acids and fulvic acids, can be explained by variations in molecular weight, the number of functional groups (carboxyl, phenolic OH) and the extent of polymerisation.

The postulated relationships are depicted in figure below, in which it can be seen that carbon and oxygen contents, acidity and degree of polymerisation all change systematically with increasing molecular weight.

The Origin of Fulvic Acid

Fulvic acid is an organic material created over a long passage of time by the action of microbes breaking down dead and dying vegetable matter. Thus, it is largely found in pre-historic deposits of lignite, a soft, brown coal, that has developed from peat through bacterial action and pressure and heat over millions of years. Smaller quantities of fulvic acid are also found naturally in soil. From the ancient remains we know that long ago plant life flourished in an environment abundant with fulvic acid and it seems that most of plants and food crops of today must contain at least some of those riches, but in reality few do.

Today, our soils provide less and less natural nutrition, especially minerals, to the plants and food crops, due to prolonged poor agricultural practices, such as excessive use of chemical fertilisers, insecticides, pesticides, and herbicides, and the resulting erosion and mineral depletion. Quantity and quick time to market are driving modern farmers to produce ever increasing volumes of food critically lacking in organic trace elements and other nutritional factors, but full of chemical residues. In turn, we are deprived of adequate natural supplies, including fulvic acid, in quantities that Nature intended for us to have, which would otherwise be available to us through plants we eat.

Fulvic Acid Molecule

Fulvic acid is a natural, water-soluble, acidic organic polymer. It is one of several sub-classes of humic acids with a particularly low molecular weight. Fulvic acid is very active biologically and its average elemental composition consists of: Oxygen (44 – 49 %), Carbon (44 – 49 %), Hydrogen (3 – 5 %), Nitrogen (2 – 4 %). It is this large content of highly bioavailable oxygen, which makes fulvic acid such an excellent natural anti-oxidant. Fulvic acid chemical formula and structure can vary slightly depending on the environment in which it occurs. On average its chemical formula is C37H33NSO33 and its structure looks like a diagram on the right (refer to: “Theoretical study on fulvic acid structure, confirmation and aggregation, a molecular modelling approach“, R A Alvarez, C Valenzuela-Calahorro, J J Garrido, Elsevier, Science of the Total Environment 358 (2006), 243-254, 26 May 2005).

The Functions of Fulvic Acid

The key functions of fulvic acid are: to absorb from soil minerals and trace elements and all nutritional and remedial components left there by microbial action, and to transfer this valuable content into plants cells, where it is metabolised and used for healthy growth. It works in exactly same way for humans. Due to its relatively low molecular weight, for a complex molecule fulvic acid is, and its excellent penetrative properties, fulvic acid infiltrates the membranes of living cells with a relative ease.

In order to underline the importance of the role, which fulvic acid plays in nourishing the living cells of our bodies, we need to start from the cell itself. The cell is a fundamental component of all living things. We begin life as a single cell and eventually grow our bodies to approximately 1014 cells, that’s a 1 with fourteen zeros behind! Cells are separated from each other or from an external environment with a special membrane. Most human cells have a nucleus, or its equivalent, which focuses the bulk of chemical information, which controls heredity properties of a human being. When cells deteriorate people age, when cells malfunction people get sick. We need healthy cells to have healthy bodies and our cells need to be nourished all the time.

For a cell to make the best of the essential nutrients, minerals and vitamins, they must become bioavailable and bioactive. But there’s evidence that many, possibly all essential nutrients have a very-limited bioavailability in their pure chemical form. They only become highly bioavailable when they are ingested as part of a natural substance, in which they occur, alongside a multitude of other natural substances. All these substances create a synergistic environment for the nutrients to maximise their absorption and to turn into a live functioning part of your body. And fulvic acid is an essential ingredient of such an environment.

Minerals in Fulvic Acid

Fulvic acid dissolves minerals present in the soil, both metallic in origin, or shell-, rock-, and clay-based, and converts them into a form usable by plants, but also by humans and animals. When inorganic minerals come into contact with fulvic acid in presence of water, they are dissolved into an ionic form and incorporated into the fulvic acid complexes, becoming an inherent part of the fulvic acid itself. In this form they become highly bioactive and bioavailable to the living cells of our bodies (as illustrated in picture below).

Nutrients & Remedial Content in Fulvic Acid

As a product of a long and slow refining process, fulvic acid contains all the riches of ancient plants: 70+ minerals and trace elements, amino acids, amino sugars, peptides, nucleic acids, and, importantly, phytochemicals and phytonutrients.

According to Wikipedia, phytochemical substances are chemical compounds, naturally occurring in plants, having protective or disease preventive properties. Plants produce these substances to protect themselves but research demonstrates that many of them have biological significance for humans and potentials to affect diseases such as cancer, stroke, metabolic syndrome and others. There’s more than 4 000 phytochemicals, having different preventative actions. Many of these substances can be counted among the most valuable and promising anti-cancer nutrients. Some selected examples of phytochemicals are:

  • Antioxidant action : allyl sulphides, carotenoids, flavonoids, polyphenols – protect our cells against oxidative damage and reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancer.
  • Hormonal action : isoflavones – imitate human estrogens and help reduce menopausal symptoms and osteoporosis.
  • Stimulation of enzymes: protease inhibitors, terpenes, indoles – stimulate enzymes that make the estrogen less effective and could reduce the risk of breast cancer.
  • Interference with DNA replication: saponins – impede replication of cell DNA, thereby preventing the multiplication of cancer cells; capsaicin – protects DNA from carcinogens.
  • Anti-bacterial effect: allicin – has anti-bacterial properties.
  • Physical action: proanthocyanidins – bind physically to cell walls, thereby preventing the adhesion of pathogens to human cell walls

Fulvic acid is a remarkable substance capable of making nutrients bioactive on a cellular level and it is thus recognized for its ability to balance and energize cell life and biological processes.

REFERENCES – Popular Reviews

REFERENCES – Scientific Reviews

  • Properties and Functions of Humic Acids, Meeting Report, Davies G, The Nucleus February 1996, p17
  • Application of Fulvic Acid and its derivatives in the fields of agriculture and medicine, Yuan, Shenyuan; et al, Diabet Med 1997; 14:S7-S85. Diabetes Care 1998, 21:296-309.
  • Medical Drugs from Humus Matter: Focus on Mumie, Shepetkin, I., A. Khlebnikov, and B.S. Kwon, Drug Development Research 57: 150-159, 2002.
  • Humic substances – compounds of still unknown structure: applications in agriculture, industry, environment, and biomedicine, Peña-Méndez EM, Havel, J, Patočka J, Appl Biomed. 2005;3:13-24
  • MEDICAL ASPECTS AND APPLICATIONS OF HUMIC SUBSTANCES, R, Klocking, B. Helbig, Biopolymers for Medical and Pharmaceutical Applications, Edited by A. Steinbuchel and R.H. Marchessault, 2005 WILLEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim, ISBN: 3-527-31154-8
  • SHILAJIT: A HUMIC MATTER PANACEA FOR CANCER, Kishor Pant, Bimala Singh, Nagendra Thakur, International Journal of Toxicological and Pharmacological Research 2012; 4(2): 17-25, ISSN: 0975-5160
  • The Antiinflammatory Properties of Humic Substances: A Mini Review, C.E.J. van Rensburg, Phytotherapy Research,  Volume 29, Issue 6, June 2015, Pages 791–795.

REFERENCES – Fulvic Acid Properties

  • General – Senesi, N. (1990). Analytica Chimica Acts, 232, 51-75. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier.
  • Electrolytes – Baker, W.E. (1973). Geochimilen at Casmochtulon Acts, 37, 269-281.
  • Trace elements – Gamble, D.S., & Schnitzer, M. (1974). Trace Metals and Metal-Organic Interactions in Natural Waters. Ann Arbor, Mi: Ann Arbor Science.
  • Electrolytes – Crile, G. (1926). A bipolar theory of living processes. New York: McMillen.
  • Electrical potential – Crile, G. (1926). A bipolar theory of living processes. New York: McMillen.
  • Electrolytes – Jackson, William R. (1993). Humic, Fulvic and Microbial Balance: Organic Soil Conditioning 329. Evergreen, Colorado: Jackson Research Center.
  • Electrolytes – New Electronic Encyclopedia. (1991). Photosynthesis. Grolier Electronic Publishing.
  • Donor and acceptor – Jackson, William R. (1993). Humic, Fulvic and Microbial Balance: Organic Soil Conditioning. Evergreen, Colorado: Jackson Research Center.
  • Donor and acceptor – Rashid, M.A. (1985). Geochemistry of marine humic substances. New York: Springer-Verlag.
  • Donor and acceptor – Sposito, G., Holtaclaw, K.M., LeVesque, C.S., & Johnston, C.T. (1982). Trace metal chemistry in arid-zone filed soils amended with sewage sludge. II. Comparative study of the fulvic and fraction. Soil Science Society America Journal, 45, 265-270.
  • Electrolytes – Mineral complexes in fulvic may serve as electrodes – Rashid, M.A. (1985). Geochemistry of marine humic substances. New York: Springer-Verlag.
  • Free-radicals scavenging – Senesi N. (1990) Analytion Chimica Acts, 232, 51-75. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elaevier.
  • Free-radicals scavenging – Senesi, N., Chen, Y., & Schnitzer, M. (1977b). The role of humic acids in extracellular electron transport and chemical determination of pH in natural waters. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 9, 397-403.
  • Anti-oxidant – Senesi, N., Chen, Y., & Schnitzer, M. (1977b). The role of humic acids in extracellular electron transport and chemical determination of pH in natural waters. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 9, 397-403.
  • Dissolves metals and minerals – Ong, H.L., Swanson, V.D., & Bisque, R.E. (1970) Natural organic acids as agents of chemical weathering (130-170). U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 700 C. Washington, DC: U.S. Geological Survey.
  • Enhances and transports nutrients – Christman, R.F., & Gjessing, E.T. (1983). Aquatic and terrestrial humic materials. The Butterworth Grove, Kent, England: Ann Arbor Science. Also: Prakish, A. (1971). Terrigenous organic matter and coastal phytoplankton fertility. In J.D. Costlow (Ed.), Fertility of the sea, 2, 351-368. (Proceedings of an International Symposium on Fertility of the Sea, Seo Paulo, Brazil, London, and New York: Gordon and Breach Science).
  • Enhances and transports nutrients – Prakash, A. (1971). Fertility of the Sea, 2, 351-368.
  • Anti-biotic – Williams, S.T. (1963). Are antibiotics produced in soil? Pedobiologia, 23, 426, 435.
  • Stimulate growth – Kanonova, M.M. (1966). Soil organic matter. Elmsford, NY: Pergamon.
  • Vitamins – Kanonova, M.M. (1966). Soil organic matter. Elmsford, NY: Pergamon.
  • Chelator – Deb, B.C. (1949). The movement and precipitation of iron oxides in podzol soils. Journal of Soil Sciences, 1, 112-122.
  • Catalyzes enzyme reactions – Khristeva, L.A., Luk’Yaneko, M.V. (1962). Role of physiologically active substances in soil-humic acids, bitumens and vitamins B, C, P-PA and D in the life of plants and their replenishment. Soviet Soil Sciences, 10, 1137-1141.
  • Catalyzes enzyme reactions – Pardoe, H.L., Townshend, A., Clerc, J.T., VenderLinden (Eds.), 1990, May 1). Analytica Chimica Acts, Special Issue, Humic and Fulvic Compounds, 232 (1), 1-235. (Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier Science Publishers).
  • Increases assimilation – Buffle, J. (1988). Complexation Reactions in Aquatic Systems: An Analytical Approach. Chickester: Horwood.
  • Low molecular weight – Aiken, G.R, McKnight, D.M., & VacCarthy, P. 1985). Humic substances of soil, sediment and water, New York: Wiley-Interscience.
  • Sensitizes cell membranes – Rashid, M.A. (1985). Geochemistry of Marine Humic Substances. New York: Springer-Verlag.
  • Stimulates metabolism – Rashid, M.A. (1985). Geochemistry of Marine Humic Substances. New York: Springer-Verlag.
  • Genetics and growth – Jackson, William R. (1993). Humic, Fulvic and Microbial Balance: Organic Soil Conditioning, 538. Evergreen, Colorado: Jackson Research Center.
  • Oxygen absorption – Kononova, M.M. (1966). Soil organic matter. Elmsford, NY: Pergamon.
  • Transport of nutrients – Kanonova, M.M. (1966). Soil organic matter. Elmsford, NY: Pergamon.
  • Immune system – Syltie, P.W. (1985). Effects of very small amounts of highly active biological substances on plant growth. Biological Agriculture and Horticultures, 2, 245-269, and Research reports and studies, Appropriate Technology Ltd. Dallas, TX: Murray Sinks II of ATL (Publisher).
  • Detoxification – Christman, R.F., & Gjessing. E.T. (1983). Aquatic and terrestrial humic materials. The Butterworth Grove, Kent, England: Ann Arbor Science. Also: Prakash, A. (1961). Terrigenous organic matter and coastal phytoplankton fertility. In J.D. Costlow (Ed), Fertility of the sea, 2, 351-368. (Proceedings of an International Symposium on Fertility of the Sea, Seo Paulo, Brazil, London, and New York: Gordon and Breach Science).
  • Environmental – Paraquat – Fischer, A.M., Winterie, J.S., & Mill, T. (1967). Primary photochemical processes in photolysis medicated by humic substances. In R.G. Zika & W.J. Cooper (Eds). Photochemistry of environmental aquatic system (141-156). (ACS Symposium Series 327). Washington DC: American Chemical Society.
  • Environmental – Aiken, G.R, McKnight, D.M., & MacCarthy, P. (1985). Humic substances of soil, sediment and water. New York: Wiley-Interscience.
  • Radioactivity – Szalay, A. (1958). The significance of humus in the geochemical enrichment of uranium. Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, 2, 182-186. (London: Pergamon).
  • Dissolution of silica – Huang, W.H., & Delier, W.D. (1970). Dissolution of rock-forming silicate minerals in organic acids; simulated first stage weathering of fresh minerals surfaces. America Mineralogical Journal, 55, 2076-2097.
  • Dissolution of silica – Kodmans, H., Schnitzer, M., & Jaakkimainen, M. (1983). Chlorite and biotite weathering by fulvic acid solutions in closed and open systems. Canadian Journal of Soil Science, 63, 619-629.
  • Chelation of minerals – Schnitzer, M, & Dodama, H. (1977). Reactions of minerals with soil humic substances. In J.B. Dixon & S.B. Weed (Eds.), Minerals in soil environments (Chap. 21). Madison, WI: Soil Science Society of America.
  • Dissolution of silica – “The Fulvic Acid, Vegetal Silica Miracle‚ and further documentation of Kervran, Lois C., Biological Transmutations.
  • Cell elongation – Poapst , P.A., & Schnitzer, M. (1971). Fulvic acid and adventitious root formation. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 3, 215-219.
  • Enhances permeability of cell membranes – Christman, R.F., & Gjessing, E.T. (1983). Aquatic and terrestrial humic materials. The Butterworth Grove, Kent, England: Ann Arbor Science. Also: Prakash, A. (1971). Terrigenous organic matter and coastal phytoplankton fertility. In J.D. Costlow (Ed.), Fertility of the sea, 2, 351-368. (Proceedings of an International Symposium on Fertility of the Sea, Sao Paulo, Brazil, London and New York: Gordon and Breach Science) low molecular weight, Aiken, G.R., McKnight, D.M., & VacCarthy, P. 1985). Humic substances of soil, sediment and water, New York: Wiley-Interscience.
  • Sensitizing agent – Prakash, A. (1971). Terrigenous organic matter and coastal phytoplankton fertility. In J.D. Costlow (Ed.), Fertility of the sea, 2, 351-368. (Proceedings of an International Symposium on Fertility of the Sea, Sao Paulo, Brazil, London, and new York: Gordon and Breach Science).
  • Increases metabolism of proteins – Christman, R.F., & Gjessing, E.T. (1983). Aquatic and terrestrial humic materials. The Butterworth Grove, Kent, England: Ann Arbor Science. Also: Prakash, A. (1971). Terrigenous organic matter and coastal phytoplankton fertility. In J.D. Costlow (Ed.), Fertility of the sea, 2, 351-368. (Proceedings of an International Symposium on Fertility of the Seam, Sao Paulo, Brazil, London, and New York: Gordon and Breach Science).
  • Proteins, DNA, RNA – Khristeva, L.A., Solocha, K.L., Dynkins, R.L., Kovalenko, V.E., & Gorovaya, A.I. (1967). Influence of physiologically active substances of soil humus and fertilizers on nucleic acid metabolism, plant growth and subsequent quality of the seeds. Humus at Plants, 4, 272-276.
  • Proteins, DNA, RNA – Jackson, William R. (1993). Humic, Fulvic and Microbial Balance: Organic Soil Conditioning, 569-570. Evergreen, Colorado: Jackson Research Center.
  • DNA, RNA – Khristeva, L.A. (1968). About the nature of physiologically active substances of the soil humus and of organic fertilizers and their agricultural importance. In F.V. Hernando (Ed.), Pontifica academec scientarium citta del vaticano (701-721). New York: John Wiley.
  • Catalyst to vitamins within the cell – Williams, Dr. Roger J. (1977). The Wonderful World within You. Bio-Communications Press. Wichita, Kansas.
  • Transports metal ions – Schnitzer, M., & Khan, S.U. (1972). Humic substances in the environment. New York: Dekker.