Know Your Vitamins - Vitamin C

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Vitamin C – Ascorbic Acid 
Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin that acts as an antioxidant and plays a role in maintaining the health of the body’s connective tissue. Vitamin C can also help protect the health of your heart, repair and restore tissues and boost the absorption of other nutrients in the body.
Why it Is Important

The RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) for Vitamin C put forward by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council is 60 mg/day for adults. It is recommended that pregnant women consume an additional 20 mg/day. Lactating women are encouraged to take an additional 40 mg/day in order to assure an adequate supply of Vitamin C in breast milk. Medical research shows that 10 mg/day of Vitamin C will prevent scurvy in adults.
Table 1: Vitamin C content of some foodstuffs


Vitamin-C (mg/100g)
Foods
100 – 350
Chili peppers, sweet peppers, parsley, and turnip greens
25 – 100
Citrus juices (oranges, lemons, etc.), tomato juice, mustard greens, spinach, brussels sprouts
10 – 25
Green beans and peas, sweet corn, asparagus, pineapple, cranberries, cucumbers, lettuce
< 10
Eggs, milk, carrots, beets, cooked meat

From Roberts, Hollenberg, and Postman, General Chemistry in the Laboratory.


Benefits of Vitamin C Foods
  1. Promotes Healthy Skin and Collagen Formation
  2. Improves Iron Absorption
  3. Reduces Risk of Gout
  4. Fights Free Radical Damage
  5. Boosts Immune Function
  6. Enhances Cancer Treatment
  7. Supports Heart Health

Vitamin C Deficiency Symptoms and Causes
There are several different signs and symptoms of vitamin C deficiency, and maintaining low levels of vitamin C long-term can have detrimental effects on health. In fact, a severe vitamin C deficiency can result in scurvy, a disease resulting from the breakdown of collagen that causes symptoms like bruising, bleeding gums and fatigue.
Some of the most common symptoms of a vitamin C deficiency include:

  • Easy bruising
  • Swollen gums
  • Bleeding gums
  • Slow wound healing
  • Gingivitis (inflammation of the gums)
  • Dry and splitting hair
  • Dry red spots on the skin
  • Rough, dry, scaly skin
  • Nosebleeds
  • Weakened immune system
  • Digestive disorders like leaky gut
  • Possible weight gain because of slowed metabolism
  • Swollen and painful joints

Health problems related to a vitamin C deficiency can get much worse over time and may lead to some serious health issues. Long-term problems from low levels of vitamin C include:

  • High blood pressure
  • Gallbladder disease
  • Stroke
  • Certain cancers
  • Atherosclerosis

Analysis of Vitamin C 
Vitamin analysis is the determination of what vitamins are present and at what levels in a food, drink, raw material or ingredient. It is usually carried out by sophisticated chemical analysis such as chromatography and mass spectrometry. It can be an important part of product development, nutritional analysis and understanding the effects of food processes on vitamin content.
Vitamin C can be measured as Ascorbic acid By Titration and by HPLC using AOAC methods. 
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