Handbook of Vitamin C Research: Daily Requirements, Dietary Sources and Adverse Effects (Nutrition and Diet Research Progress)

436 Pages·2010·4.81 MB·English

by  H. Kucharski

NUTRITION AND DIET RESEARCH PROGRESS SERIES

H V C R :
ANDBOOK OF ITAMIN ESEARCH
D R , D
AILY EQUIREMENTS IETARY
SOURCES AND ADVERSE EFFECTS

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NUTRITION AND DIET RESEARCH PROGRESS SERIES

H V C R :
ANDBOOK OF ITAMIN ESEARCH
D R , D
AILY EQUIREMENTS IETARY
SOURCES AND ADVERSE EFFECTS

HUBERT KUCHARSKI

AND
JULEK ZAJAC
EDITORS

Nova Biomedical Books
New York
Copyright © 2009 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Handbook of vitamin C research : daily requirements, dietary sources, and adverse effects / editors, Hubert Kucharski and
Julek Zajac.
p. ; cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-61324-970-3 (eBook)
1. Vitamin C--Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Kucharski, Hubert. II. Zajac, Julek.
[DNLM: 1. Ascorbic Acid--therapeutic use. 2. Ascorbic Acid--adverse effects. 3. Ascorbic Acid--metabolism. 4.
Oxidative Stress--physiology. QU 210 H236 2009]
QP772.A8H36 2009
612.3'99--dc22
2009026856


Contents

Preface vii
Chapter I Impact of Vitamin C on Exercise-Induced Oxidative Stress
and Tissue Injury 1
Kelsey H. Fisher-Wellman and Richard J. Bloomer
Chapter II Human Specific Vitamin C Metabolism and Xenobiotic
Polymorphism: The Optimal Nutrition 45
Yasuo Kagawa, Shizu Higasa, Masaru Tsujimura, Fumio Komatsu,
Yoshiko Yanagisawa and Sadahiko Iwamoto
Chapter III Vitamin C Protects from Oxidative DNA Damage and Apoptosis
Caused by Food N-Nitrosamines 87
Ana I. Haza, Almudena García and Paloma Morales
Chapter IV Vitamin C: Dietary Requirements, Dietary Sources
and Adverse Effects 127
Chin-San Liu
Chapter V Pro-Oxidant vs. Antioxidant Effects of Vitamin C 153
Borut Poljsak and John G. Ionescu
Chapter VI Encapsulation Devices for Vitamin C 185
Magdalena Stevanović and Dragan Uskoković
Chapter VII Molecular Bases of the Cellular Handling of Vitamin C 213
J.J.G. Marin, M.A. Serrano, M.J. Perez and R.I.R. Macias
Chapter VIII Vitamin C: Daily Requirements, Dietary Sources
and Adverse Effects 237
Jun Yang, Jiaren Liu and John Parry
vi Contents
Chapter IX Vitamin C Intake: Types of Foods Consumed and Meal Pattern
Differences in Children with High or Low Exposure
to Environmental Tobacco Smoke 261
Alan M. Preston, Luis Vázquez Quiñones, Cynthia M. Pérez,
Ernesto Pérez Torres and Cindy Rodríguez
Chapter X The Role of Vitamin C in Human Reproduction 281
E. Tzagaraki, C. Sofocleous, G. Tounta, A. Mavrou and A. Kolialexi
Chapter XI Effects of Vitamin C on Oxidative Stress-Induced Molecular
Pathways in Epilepsy 299
Mustafa Nazıroğlu
Chapter XII Vitamin C as a Stress Bioindicator of Norway Spruce: A Case
Study in Slovenia 313
Samar Al Sayegh Petkovšek and Boštjan Pokorny
Chapter XIII Protective Effect of Vitamin C on Vascular Damage and Arterial
Hypertension Induced by Low-Level Mercury and Lead Exposure 329
Antonio J. López-Farré, José J. Zamorano-León, Daniel Sacristán,
Maria Marques, Carlos Macaya and Alberto Barrientos
Chapter XIV Vitamin C in the Treatment of Endothelial Dysfunction 343
Alin Stirban
Chapter XV Vitamin C Intake by Japanese Patients with Chronic Obstructive
Pulmonary Disease 355
Fumi Hirayama and Andy H. Lee
Chapter XVI Reciprocal Effects of Ascorbate on Cancer Cell Growth
and the Expression of Matrix Metalloproteinases and Transforming
Growth Factor-Beta: Modulation by Gene Silencing
or P. Leucotomos 367
Neena Philips
Chapter XVII Shortage of Vitamin C Accelerates Aging 377
Akihito Ishigami
Expert Commentary 385
The Importance of Food Processing on Vitamin C: Present
and Future Trends 385
Rui M. S. Cruz, Margarida C. Vieira and Cristina L. M. Silva
Index 389
Preface

The 6-carbon lactone known as ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is an important water-soluble
vitamin. It is essential for preserving optimal health and it is used by the body for many
purposes, including collagen biosynthesis, melanin reduction and enhanced immunity. This
book addresses some important issues related to various methods which are employed to
encapsulate asorbic acid. A comparation of the characteristics of ascorbic acid nano and
microparticles prepared by different methods is also given. Furthermore, the biomedical
significance of human vitamin C metabolism is examined, in the light of polymorphisms in
xenobiotic enzymes deduced from genetic, biochemical and epidemiological results to
estimate optimal nutrition. Additionally, Vitamin C exerts a protective role against some
types of cancer. For that reason, this book investigates the protective effect of vitamin C.
Possible pro- and antioxidant effects of vitamin C are also presented and their extrapolation
on human health is discussed. Other chapters in this book include a review of the role of
vitamin C in the physiology of several diseases, good dietary sources of vitamin C, a study of
the effects of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) on vitamin C status in exposed
populations and the role of vitamin C in human reproduction and its effect on people who
suffer from epileptic seizures.
Chapter I - The 6-carbon lactone known as ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is a principal water
soluble micronutrient within biological systems, where it serves as an electron donor for a
variety of physiological processes. Vitamin C is perhaps best known for its role as the
primary small molecule antioxidant within aqueous environments. Here it assists other
enzymatic and nonenzymatic components of the antioxidant defense system in providing
protection against free radical-mediated attack, in an effort to minimize oxidative stress.
Simply stated, oxidative stress is a condition in which the production of free radicals exceeds
antioxidant defenses, potentially leading to oxidative damage to small and large molecules.
Oxidative stress is associated with human disease, as well as the aging process. Although
multiple stimuli exist, the performance of acute exercise is one such condition in which the
production of free radicals is exacerbated. This exercise-induced oxidative stress has
commonly been viewed as a detriment to physical performance, as it is believed to interfere
with force production capabilities during exercise, as well as accelerate muscle damage and
delay recovery in the days following exercise. For this reason, coupled with the
aforementioned association of oxidative stress with disease, numerous investigators have
viii Hubert Kucharski and Julek Zajac
attempted to elucidate methods aimed at attenuating such a stress. One such method that has
received considerable attention during the past several years is the use of supplemental
vitamin C (either alone or in combination with other antioxidant nutrients). Although some
investigators have reported a reduction in oxidative stress following vitamin C intake, results
are mixed, and controversy exists as to whether such attenuation is really desirable. That is,
the consumption of additional vitamin C or other exogenous antioxidants, within otherwise
healthy populations, may actually blunt the adaptive improvement in antioxidant defenses
commonly observed with regular exercise training. This phenomenon is based on the
principle of hormesis and suggests that exercise-induced free radical production may serve as
the necessary ―signal‖ for the induction/regulation of a wide variety of favorable adaptations.
At the present time, it would appear that vitamin C supplementation likely possesses no
additional benefits related to improved performance in otherwise healthy individuals engaged
in regular exercise training who consume a quality diet containing adequate amount of fruits,
vegetables, whole grains, and antioxidant-rich oils (fish, flax, olive). However, conditions
whereby an individual is continuously exposed to a currently undefined critical level of
excessive exercise (i.e., overtraining) may warrant supplementation with vitamin C. Clearly,
more research is needed in order to further elucidate the point at which the detrimental effects
of exercise begin to outweigh the positive benefits, and at which time intake of supplemental
vitamin C may be recommended.
Chapter II - The biomedical significance of human vitamin C (VC) metabolism is
reviewed in the light of polymorphisms in xenobiotic enzymes deduced from genetic,
biochemical, and epidemiological results to estimate optimal nutrition. VC comprises both
ascorbic acid (AsA) and dehydroascorbic acid (DAsA). AsA is oxidized to DAsA via short-
lived monodehydroascorbate radicals in a series of xenobiotic reactions and by reactive
oxygen species (ROS). DAsA is reversibly reduced by glutaredoxin, but is also irreversibly
hydrolyzed into 2,3-diketo-L-gulonate by dehydroascorbatase [EC 3.1.1.17] and non-
enzymatic reactions. VC is a cofactor in reactions catalyzed by Cu+-dependent
monooxygenases [EC 1.13.12.-] and Fe2+-dependent dioxygenases [EC 1.13.11.-]. VC plays
a protective role against oxidative stress by ROS and xenobiotics, via monodehydroascorbate
radicals. The Vitamin Society of Japan has re-evaluated old data because of the development
of life science. The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of VC is 100 mg/day for adults
in Japan to prevent scurvy. RDA is defined as EAR+2SD, i.e. estimated average requirement
(EAR) and the standard deviation (SD) obtained by short-term depletion-repletion studies.
However, based on VC synthetic rates in rat, Pauling proposed that the optimum intake is 2.3
g/day. This is the problem of RDA vs. optimal nutrition. Optimal nutrition is wider in scope
than RDA that covers genetic polymorphisms, long-term health outcome during the lifespan,
and xenobiotics. Humans (VC auxotrophs) have relatively low plasma AsA levels and high
serum uric acid levels compared to most VC-synthesizing mammals (VC autotrophs) due to
gene defects in L-gulonolactone oxidase (GLO [EC 1.1.3.8]) and uricase (urate oxidase) [EC
1.7.3.3], respectively. Extrapolation of metabolic data of VC autotrophs to estimate human
optimal nutrition is limited because of the compensatory mechanism for the GLO defect in
VC auxotrophs, including DAsA transport by GLUT1, and specific mutations in uricase and
dehydroascorbatase. Beneficial effects of long-term VC supplementation remain
controversial, perhaps because of 1. genetic heterogeneity in study populations, and 2. the