Vitamin C

:This article is about the nutrient.

Functions in the body

• As a participant in hydroxylation, vitamin C is needed for the production of collagen in the connective tissue. These fibres are ubiquitous throughout the body; providing firm but flexible structure. Some tissues have a greater percentage of collagen, especially: skin, mucous membranes, teeth and bones.
• Vitamin C is required for synthesis of dopamine, noradrenaline and adrenaline in the nervous system or in the adrenal glands.
• Vitamin C is also needed to synthesise carnitine, important in the transfer of energy to the cell mitochondria.
• It is a strong antioxidant.
• The tissues with greatest percentage of vitamin C — over 100 times the level in blood plasma — are the adrenal glands, pituitary, thymus, corpus luteum, and retina.
• The brain, spleen, lung, testicle, lymph nodes, liver, thyroid, small intestinal mucosa, leukocytes, pancreas, kidney and salivary glands usually have 10 to 50 times the concentration present in plasma.

No bodily organ stores ascorbate as a primary function, and so the body soon depletes itself of ascorbate if fresh supplies do not continue to arrive through the digestive system, eventually leading to death if unresolved.

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