As early as Columbus's voyage to America, many sailors were sick, tired, bleeding gums and even died. The same thing happened to the navigator Magellan during his voyage in 15 19. After arriving at the destination, there were only 35 crew members left.
Gradually found that as long as the crew sailing at sea, it is very easy to get sick. At first, they were weak, listless and sore muscles. Then, their faces are swollen, their gums bleed, their teeth fall off and their skin bleeds. Finally, they suffered from severe fatigue, diarrhea, dyspnea and death.
In addition, people who have marched in the desert for a long time, or people who have been besieged for a long time because of lack of food, will have similar phenomena. People call this disease scurvy, but what is the cause and how to treat it is helpless.
It was not until the18th century that things got better. There is a young ship doctor named Lint. He found that all the crew members had scurvy, but no one, including the captain himself, had scurvy. By chance, he went to the crew dining room to eat, and found that the crew had only bread and bacon to eat. Besides, the captain still has potatoes and cabbage sprouts to eat.
Dr. Lint thinks that fresh fruits and vegetables can cure scurvy. Later, they met a Dutch cargo ship full of oranges and lemons. Dr. Lint bought oranges and lemons to treat scurvy patients, and the effect was very good. Dr. Lint divided the patients into two groups and ate the same food, but one group of patients supplemented with citrus fruits. Results the scurvy in the fruit supplement group was obviously improved.
Dr. Lint wrote a report on this and suggested providing fresh fruit for all crew members, but unfortunately it was not adopted. But American explorer Cook read the report and took his advice. No one died of scurvy during his next three Pacific voyages.
After the death of Dr. Lint, the British Navy also began to provide sailors with lime juice to ensure the health of the crew. Britain can enjoy the reputation of "the country where the sun never sets" in the19th century. In addition to building a strong ship, lime juice has made incredible contributions.
In the twentieth century, a substance for preventing scurvy was finally developed, named ascorbic acid, that is, vitamin C.
At the beginning of the 20th century, scientists published vitamin theory one after another, and determined the chemical molecular formula of vitamin C; Vitamin c is separated from the accessory kidney of cattle; Separating vitamin c from pepper; 1933 Swiss chemists invented the industrialized production method of vitamin C; 1934, Roche Company purchased the patent of the industrialized production method of vitamin C and started the industrialized production of vitamin C for treating diseases.
Extended data:
The role of vitamins
First, participate in the hydroxylation reaction. Hydroxylation is a necessary step in the synthesis or decomposition of many important substances in the body, and vitamin C must participate in the hydroxylation process.
1, promoting collagen synthesis. When vitamin C is deficient, collagen synthesis is impaired, leading to scurvy.
2. Promote the synthesis of neurotransmitters (5- hydroxytryptamine and norepinephrine).
3. Promote steroid hydroxylation. Patients with high cholesterol should be supplemented with adequate vitamin C.
4. Promote hydroxylation and detoxification of organic substances or poisons. Vitamin C can enhance the activity of mixed functional oxidase and enhance the detoxification (hydroxylation) process of drugs or poisons.
Second, reduction. Vitamin C can be oxidized or reduced in vivo, so it can be used as a hydrogen donor and a hydrogen acceptor and plays an important role in the redox process in vivo.
1, promoting antibody formation. High concentration of vitamin C helps to reduce cystine in food protein to cysteine, and then synthesize antibodies.
2. Promote the absorption of iron. Vitamin C can reduce the hard-to-absorb trivalent iron to the easily-absorbed bivalent iron, thus promoting the absorption of iron. In addition, it can also make sulfhydryl groups such as ferrous complexing enzyme active, thus playing an effective role, so vitamin C is an important auxiliary drug for the treatment of anemia.
3. Promote the formation of tetrahydrofolate. Vitamin C can promote the reduction of folic acid to tetrahydrofolate, so it also has a certain effect on megaloblastic anemia.
4. Maintain the activity of sulfhydryl enzyme.
Third, other functions
1, detoxification. Supplementing a large amount of vitamin C in the body can reduce the toxic effects of heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium and arsenic on the body.
2. Prevent cancer. Many studies have proved that vitamin C can block the synthesis of carcinogenic N- nitroso compounds and prevent cancer.
3. Scavenging free radicals. Vitamin C can be converted into semi-deoxyascorbic acid and dehydroascorbic acid by gradually supplying electrons, and can eliminate free radicals such as ultra-negative oxygen ions, hydroxyl radicals, organic free radicals and organic peroxy free radicals. The tocopherol radical is reduced to tocopherol again, and the ascorbic acid radical generated by the reaction can be reduced to ascorbic acid by NADH2 system enzyme under certain conditions.
Phoenix Net-Vitamin C: Too much is too late.
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