Vitamin-C Deficiency symptoms or signs

The absence of Vitamin-C from human diet causes scurvy in three or four months. Major symptoms of this disease are general weakness, swelling of gums and loosening of the teeth, many small hemorrhages into the skin and mucus membranes, and brittleness of bones. If not soon treated the disease is fatal. In the absence of Vitamin-C the capillary walls become fragile or abnormally permeable, causing extracasation of blood into the tissues. Lack of Vitamin-C may result in damage to tooth structure due to partial degeneration of odontoblasts and other cells, and in this way predispose to dental caries. There is also evidence that Vitamin-C is also necessary for the health of the hum and protects against pyorrhea.

An adequate intake of Vitamin-C is important for the promotion of normal healing of wounds and fractures, but all the animals are not susceptible to scurvy. The rat, rabbit, dog and birds do not get scurvy on a Vitamin-C deficient diet, man, apes, monkeys and guinea pigs are very susceptible. Most of the animal species contain in their adrenal glands a considerable amount of Vitamin-C. Since this is diminished only in the susceptible species when there is a dietary deficiency, it is concluded that non-susceptible animals have the power of synthesizing the vitamin. Normal human bloods contain 0.6 to 1.5mg of ascorbic acid per 100ml.

Sources of Vitamin-C: The chief dietary sources of Vitamin-C are fresh fruits and green vegetables, lemon, oranges, grape fruit, black currants, tomatoes, lettuce, cauliflower and cabbage are excellent source if fresh. Lime juice has variable content and can also be almost devoid of activity. Freshly killed meat is an important source of Vitamin-C, but its value is greatly reduced after hanging and cooking.

Human milk contains adequate amount of Vitamin-C if the mother’s intake is adequate; cow’s milk does not contain sufficient.

It has been estimated that for man 75 mg of Vitamin-C is the minimum daily requirement (MDR).