VITAMIN C

Abstract

Vitamin C is specifically involved in the prevention or treatment of scurvy. Since this factor was isolated, its structure determined and the pure substance synthesized, considerable advances in our knowledge of the physiology of vitamin C have been made and some evidence of the value of this substance in conditions other than scurvy has been developed. Exact knowledge of the pharmacologic action of vitamin C is still rather limited, but it is growing rapidly because of the development of chemical methods for estimating vitamin C in foods and body tissues and fluids. The present review is an attempt to summarize this knowledge as well as the present status of our knowledge of the therapeutic usefulness of vitamin C. AVAILABLE PREPARATIONS OF VITAMIN C It must not be forgotten that vitamin C is an accessory food substance and that ordinarily foods are relied on for a supply of this essential factor.