Vitamin C
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Scurvy results from insufficient intake of vitamin C, which is required for correct collagen synthesis in humans. The scientific name of vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is derived from the Latin name of scurvy, scorbutus. Scurvy leads to the formation of liver spots on the skin, spongy gums, and bleeding from all mucous membranes. The spots are most abundant on the thighs and legs, and a person with the ailment looks pale, feels depressed, and is partially immobilized. In advanced scurvy there are open, suppurating wounds and loss of teeth. 1
In the scientific world, the water-soluble vitamin C is known as ascorbic acid (meaning “without scurvy,” the disease caused by a vitamin C deficiency). Considering the many benefits vitamin C may provide, that mandate is deceptively simple. 2
Severe deficiency of vitamin C causes scurvy. Although rare, scurvy includes potentially severe consequences, and can cause sudden death. Patients with scurvy are treated with vitamin C and should be under medical supervision. 3
Vitamin C is required for the growth and repair of tissues in all parts of your body. It is necessary to form collagen, an important protein used to make skin, scar tissue, tendons, ligaments, and blood vessels. Vitamin C is essential for the healing of wounds, and for the repair and maintenance of cartilage, bones, and teeth. 4
Vitamin C is labeled ascorbic acid because it was initially identified as the anti-scorbutic factor missing in the diets of sailors who did not have access to fresh fruits and vegetables while away at sea. Scurvy is the clinical expression of vitamin C deficiency disease which is observed within 45-80 days of consuming inadequate amounts of the vitamin. Signs and symptoms of scurvy include lesions in mesenchymal tissues that contribute to impaired wound healing, edema and hemorrhage. Connective tissue is also weakened by poorly formed collagen. This defect accounts for gingival bleeding and petichiae (pin-point bruising) which occur early in a vitamin C deficiency because weakened capillary membranes cause blood to seep into interstitial spaces. Signs of advanced vitamin C deficiency include tooth loss, muscular atrophy, lethargy, and fatigue. 5
Vitamin C Image Number 3 - Soluble ascorbic acid is contained in the watery parts of fruits and vegetables and represents one of the least chemically stable molecules in the vitamin family. This weak acid is easily destroyed by mild alkali solutions such as baking soda. Once ingested, vitamin C is readily absorbed by the intestines and continues its journey through the watery components tissues that make up the human body, helping to build collagen protein while doubling as an antioxidant along the way. 6
Vitamin C Image Number 4 - In its natural state, ascorbic acid appears in the form of a white to yellowish crystal or powder. The chemical name ascorbic acid refers to L-ascorbic acid, the levorotatory isomer, and has been widely synthesized as a supplement or food additive. 7
Vitamin C Image Number 5 - Scurvy is a condition manifested by inadequate amounts of vitamin C in the diet, and the symptoms include swollen gums, loose teeth, black-and-blue spots or open sores on the skin, and slow wound healing. The disease was especially prevalent in seamen on long sea voyages during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries who primarily ate nonperishable foods that lacked this essential vitamin. 8
In a report on ascorbic acid in Vitamin Intake and Health, S.K. Singh explain that collagen protein requires vitamin C for “hydroxylation,” a process that allows the molecule to achieve the best configuration and prevents collagen from becoming weak and susceptible to damage. Beyond that, they say, recent evidence indicates that vitamin C increases the level of procollagen messenger RNA. “Collagen subunits are formed within fibroblasts as procollagen, which is excreted into extracellular spaces. Vitamin C is required to export the procollagen molecules out of the cell. The finalstructure of the collagen is formed after pieces of the procollagen are enzymatically cleaved,” state Gaby and Singh. 9
Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid is a water-soluble vitamin that is an essential part of life. It has a molecular formula of C6H8O6 and a molecular mass of 176.12. 10
Intravenous vitamin C also does more than just kill cancer cells. It can stimulate collagen formation to help the body wall off the tumor. It inhibits hyaluronidase, an enzyme that tumors use to metastasize and invade other organs throughout the body. It induces apoptosis to help program cancer cells into dying early. It corrects the almost universal scurvy in cancer patients. Cancer patients are tired, listless, bruise easily, and have a poor appetite. They don’t sleep well and have a low threshold for pain. This adds up to a very classic picture of scurvy that generally goes unrecognized by their conventional physicians. 11
Vitamin C Image Number 9 - Many plants and most animals, including reptiles, do not need to consume ascorbic acid rich foods and are instead genetically programmed to produce enzymes that convert glucose into vitamin C. Mammals, in particular, possess the L-gulonolactone oxidase enzyme, enabling them to manufacture ascorbic acid from blood glucose in a metabolic cascade of enzymatic action. Curiously, however, the only way that humans, guinea pigs, and several primate species can satisfy their ascorbic acid requirements is to obtain the vitamin in their diets. As it happens, although humans have three essential enzymes required to convert glucose into ascorbic acid, they lack the fourth and final enzyme needed to complete the biochemical pathway. 12
Normal collagen synthesis depends upon the hydroxylation of proline and lysine residues in the endoplasmic reticulum, to form hydroxyproline and hydroxylysine, respectively. Prolyl and lysyl hydroxylase, the enzymes that catalyze the hydroxylation, require ascorbic acid (vitamin C) to function correctly. With no ascorbic acid, the enzymes cannot hydroxylate proline and lysine, and so normal collagen synthesis cannot be performed. 13
Vitamin C Image Number 11 - Increasing interest in nutritional supplements and fortified foods has led to maximum intake indicators, which provide general guidance about possible toxic levels to healthy people in specific groupings of gender and age, called the Tolerable Upper Intake Level or ULs. Food labels termed the Nutrition Facts Panel, mandatory on all processed foodstuffs, must highlight a product’s content of ascorbic acid and other vitamins. 14
Deficiencies of ascorbic acid result in the syndrome known as scurvy. Dogs with scurvy exhibit weak bones and swollen joints usually accompanied by severe tissue hemorrhaging. Scurvy has not been reported in cats. In young dogs, scurvy is sometimes referred to as hypertrophic osteodystrophy (HOD). Dogs with HOD generally exhibit swollen, painful joints especially of the limbs. The swollen areas are the portions of the long bones that are growing. There are other causes of HOD that are unrelated to a vitamin C deficiency. A puppy may have HOD, but have perfectly adequate amounts of vitamin C. With this in mind, it is easily explained that only some patients with HOD will respond to vitamin C therapy. 15
References
The Panacea offers these health-extracts to help people investigate health-related subjects in greater depth using the references given in each paragraph. Kindly note that these are current extracts from the web, meant for research, and that these are not meant to be medical advise. For all your health-related needs you must consult trained and licensed personnel.
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