Hydrochloric acid a hazardous liquid which must be used with care. When used on brickwork the reaction with the mortar only continues until the acid has all been converted, producing calcium chloride, carbon dioxide, and water: Many chemical reactions involving hydrochloric acid are applied in the production of food, food ingredients, and food additives. Typical products include aspartame, fructose, citric acid, lysine, hydrolyzed vegetable protein as food enhancer, and in gelatin production. Food-grade (extra-pure) hydrochloric acid can be applied when needed for the final product. Gastric acid is one of the main secretions of the stomach. It consists mainly of hydrochloric acid
Gastric acid excess vomiting, patients develop hypochloremic metabolic alkalosis (decreased blood acidity by H and chlorine depletion). The proton pump enzyme is the target of proton pump inhibitors, used to increase gastric pH (and hence decrease stomach acidity) in diseases that feature excess acid. H antagonists indirectly decrease gastric acid production. Antacids neutralize existing acid. The role of gastric acid in digestion was established in the 1820s and 1830s by William Beaumont on Alexis St. Martin, who, as a result of an accident, had a fistula (hole) in his stomach, which allowed Beaumont to observe the process of digestion and to extract