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Vitamin C
- indication:Used to treat vitamin C deficiency, scurvy, delayed wound and bone healing, urine acidification, and in general as an antioxidant. It has also been suggested to be an effective antiviral agent.
- pharmacologypharmacology:
- mechanism: In humans, an exogenous source of ascorbic acid is required for collagen formation and tissue repair by acting as a cofactor in the posttranslational formation of 4-hydroxyproline in -Xaa-Pro-Gly- sequences in collagens and other proteins. Ascorbic acid is reversibly oxidized to dehydroascorbic acid in the body. These two forms of the vitamin are believed to be important in oxidation-reduction reactions. The vitamin is involved in tyrosine metabolism, conversion of folic acid to folinic acid, carbohydrate metabolism, synthesis of lipids and proteins, iron metabolism, resistance to infections, and cellular respiration.
- toxicity:
- absorprion: 70% to 90%
- halflife: 16 days (3.4 hours in people who have excess levels of vitamin C)
- roouteelimination:
- volumedistribution:
- clearance: