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Vitatmin C and bone markers: investigations in a Gambian population

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 March 2007

Karen Munday
Karen Munday*
Affiliation:
Medical Research Council Human Nutrition Research, Elsie Widdowson Laboratory, Fulbourn Road, Cambridge, CB1 9NL, UK
*
Corresponding author: Karen Munday, fax +44 1223 437515, Karen.Munday@mrc-hnr.cam.ac.uk
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Abstract

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Vitamin C is an essential micronutrient. Absence from the diet will result in the deficiency disease scurvy, typically characterised by weakening of collagenous structures. High intakes of vitamin C have been associated with decreased incidence or severity of a number of diseases, including cancer and cardiovascular disease. These beneficial effects may be attributed to its antioxidant properties, although the exact mechanisms of action remain elusive. It is also unclear what intake levels are required for optimal health benefits. The task of defining optimal intakes is hindered by the lack of a reliable functional marker of tissue vitamin C status in man. Many different pathways have been investigated, but none of them have measurable outcome variables relating directly to scorbutic changes. The bone-collagen formation pathway has the potential to provide a functional index of tissue vitamin C adequacy. Vitamin C acts as a cofactor for the enzyme lysyl hydroxylase, which is required for the hydroxylation of lysine residues in procollagen chains. Pyridinoline is a mature collagen cross-link formed from three hydroxylysine residues, deoxypyridinoline is formed from two hydroxylysine and one lysine residue. Guinea-pig studies have shown an alteration in the pyridinium cross-link ratios in response to graded vitamin C intakes ‘Tsuchiya & Bates, 1998’. In order to investigate whether these changes can be seen in a human population group, a study was carried out in rural Gambia, where there is a marked seasonal variation in dietary vitamin C. The present review discusses the rationale behind the study and presents some preliminary results.

Keywords

Vitamin CPyridinium cross-linksFunctional markerGambian population
Type
Micronutrient Group Symposium on ‘Micronutrient supplementation: when and why?’
Information
Proceedings of the Nutrition Society , Volume 62 , Issue 2 , May 2003 , pp. 429 - 436
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2003

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