Inappropriate vitamin C reserves: their frequency and significance in an urban population

Abstract

The introduction of the potato into Europe in the 16th century, and later the use of fruit juice on board ship during the Napoleonic wars, led to a rapid decline in the incidence of scurvy¹ so that it is now a relatively rare disease in the UK. Yet interest in the antiscorbutic agent, vitamin C, persists. Essentially, interest and controversy exist in three areas. The first concerns the function of vitamin C. Vitamin C is involved in the hydroxylation of proline during collagen synthesis², but it is unlikely that this metabolic function can explain all the symptoms of scurvy, or that it is the major reason for death in the scorbutic patient. A number of other possible roles of ascorbic acid have been suggested. It is believed to protect tetrahydrofolic acid from oxidation to folic acid^{3 4}, to promote the absorption of iron^{5 6}, and to aid liver microsomal drug metabolism^{7 8}. It is questionable, however, whether vitamin C is essential for these functions and it is possible therefore that a major role of vitamin C metabolism has yet to be discovered.