Department of G.F. Ingrassia, Section of Hygiene and Public Health, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
Front Biosci (Landmark Ed). 2013 Jun 1;18(3):1017-29. doi: 10.2741/4160.
Vitamin C is an essential dietary nutrient for the biosynthesis of collagen and a co-factor in the biosynthesis of catecholamines, L-carnitine, cholesterol, amino acids, and some peptide hormones. The lack of vitamin C causes scurvy, a pathological condition leading to blood vessel fragility and connective tissue damage due to failure in producing collagen, and, finally, to death as result of a general collapse. Vitamin C is potentially involved also in cancer and cardiovascular diseases prevention. In addition, vitamin C effects on nervous system and chronically ill patients have been also documented. This review attempts to summarize recent and well established advances in vitamin C research and its clinical implications. Since vitamin C has the potential to counteract inflammation and subsequent oxidative damage that play a major role in the initiation and progression of several chronic and acute diseases, it represents a practical tool to administer for the early prevention of these pathologic conditions.
维生素 C 是生物合成胶原蛋白的必需膳食营养素，也是生物合成儿茶酚胺、左旋肉碱、胆固醇、氨基酸和一些肽类激素的辅助因子。缺乏维生素 C 会导致坏血病，这是一种病理状态，由于不能产生胶原蛋白，导致血管脆弱和结缔组织损伤，最终因全身衰竭而死亡。维生素 C 还可能预防癌症和心血管疾病。此外，维生素 C 对神经系统和慢性病患者的影响也有记录。这篇综述试图总结维生素 C 研究的最新和成熟进展及其临床意义。由于维生素 C 具有对抗炎症和随后的氧化损伤的潜力，炎症和随后的氧化损伤在几种慢性和急性疾病的发生和发展中起着主要作用，因此它是一种实用的工具，可以用于早期预防这些病理状况。
