Introduction
Out of the vast majority of molecules that sustain and support life, Vitamin C plays a significant role in the human body.
Vitamin C, also referred to as ascorbic acid, is an organic water-soluble compound that functions as a catalyst in reactions for growth and development. Vitamin C must be obtained from external substances and materials because the body does not naturally provide the nutrient.
Vitamin C performs numerous functions that benefit all organisms able and unable to synthesize the vitamin. Vitamin C's functions include collagen formation, preventing cardiovascular diseases and other health conditions, protecting the body from detrimental agents, and sustaining a healthy diet and lifestyle.
Vitamin C performs numerous functions that benefit all organisms able and unable to synthesize the vitamin. Vitamin C's functions include collagen formation, preventing cardiovascular diseases and other health conditions, protecting the body from detrimental agents, and sustaining a healthy diet and lifestyle.
Vitamin C Deficiency
Sailors would suffer from a variety of health conditions including scurvy. Scurvy was a common condition among sailors of the time period that was caused by Vitamin C deficiency. Blood vessels deteriorated from lack of vitamin nutrients and made sailors susceptible to this life-threatening condition.
Symptoms of scurvy include fatigue, sharp pain in limbs and tendons leading to severe joint damage, swollen gums, susceptibility to easier bruising, and shortness of breath. Depending on medical treatment, scurvy can lead to other health conditions, or death. While scurvy has not been eradicated, it is not a prevalent health issue in advanced modern societies.
Symptoms of scurvy include fatigue, sharp pain in limbs and tendons leading to severe joint damage, swollen gums, susceptibility to easier bruising, and shortness of breath. Depending on medical treatment, scurvy can lead to other health conditions, or death. While scurvy has not been eradicated, it is not a prevalent health issue in advanced modern societies.
Discovery
Though Vitamin C's existence was always speculated and evident, Albert Szent-Györgyi was the first scientist to identify the vitamin from an isolated molecule. His motives for discovery were linked to scurvy and his desire to cure and prevent the disease. Szent-Györgyi identified the molecule as a "hexuronic acid" (Vitamin C) and later compared it research findings conducted by J. L. Svirbely, another scientists working with vitamins.
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The vitamins were experimented on Vitamin C deficit guinea pigs to confirm the vitamin's importance and effects. Szent-Györgyi was able to validate from this experiment that Vitamin C was hexuronic-acid.