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http://hdl.handle.net/10397/7456
| Title: | Vitamin C : prospective functional markers for defining optimal nutritional status | Authors: | Benzie, IFF | Issue Date: | 1999 | Source: | Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 1999, v. 58, no. 2, p. 469-476 | Abstract: | 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: | Antioxidants Ascorbic acid Functional marker Micronutrient status Vitamin C |
ISSN: | 0029-6651 | DOI: | 10.1017/S0029665199000610 |
| Appears in Collections: | Conference Paper |
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| Benzie_Vitamin_C.pdf | 514.69 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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