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Vitamin C: prospective functional markers for defining optimal nutritional status

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2007

Iris F. F. Benzie
Iris F. F. Benzie*
Affiliation:
Department of Nursing & Health Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
*
Corresponding author: Dr Iris F. F. Benzie, fax +852 2364 9663, email hsbenzie@polyu.edu.hk
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Abstract

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Most species of plants and animals synthesize ascorbic acid, but human subjects cannot, making vitamin C an essential component of our diet. Relationships between vitamin C intake and status, and between status and health are not yet clear. There is evidence, however, that higher intake of vitamin C is associated with lower risk of disease, supporting the concept that optimal intake is needed for optimal vitamin C status, and that both factors are required for optimal health. Vitamin C has low toxicity in healthy subjects, but a clear definition of optimal status and the dietary intake required to meet and maintain this status is needed before a change in the current recommended intake can be considered. Available evidence suggests that intake of 200 mg vitamin C/d saturates tissues and maintains fasting plasma levels above the proposed threshold (50 μmol/l) for minimum risk of CHD. However, the issue of whether or not these levels produce ‘optimal vitamin C status’ awaits the clear and accepted definition of the term. This definition in turn awaits the development of reliable functional markers capable of assessing the effects of varying levels of vitamin C nutriture. In the present paper the relationship between intake and body stores of vitamin C and the role of vitamin C in human health are reviewed briefly. The requirements of a reliable functional marker of human vitamin C status are defined, three classes of functional markers (molecular, biochemical and physiological) are described, and possible candidate markers are examined.

Keywords

Vitamin CAscorbic acidAntioxidantsMicronutrient statusFunctional marker
Type
‘Optimal nutrition’
Information
Proceedings of the Nutrition Society , Volume 58 , Issue 2 , May 1999 , pp. 469 - 476
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 1999

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