Important tasks of vitamin C
About cosmetics containing ascorbic acid
A person does not have the ability to synthesize vitamin C, so getting it from the outside is a necessary condition for a full, healthy and beautiful life.
Tetyana Tsurkan, cosmetologist, chief specialist of the Le Mieux company (Ukraine)
Ascorbic acid (AC) is a widely known biologically active compound with many useful properties, which is synthesized by plants from galactose and by many animal species, except for primates, from glucose. Its role in strengthening the immune system has long been known - AK, accumulating in leukocytes, contributes to their synthesis of interferon, providing adequate protection against microorganisms. Also, ascorbic acid participates in the formation of serotonin, catecholamines and corticosteroids, protecting the body from the effects of stress.
Last but not least, vitamin C plays a role in the conversion of cholesterol into bile acids, converting divalent iron into trivalent iron and contributing to the proper functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. With a lack of AK in the body, the processes of formation of structural elements of the mesenchyme are disturbed, as a result of which the parenchyma of all organs atrophies (the basis of the pathogenesis of hemorrhages, gingivitis, changes in bones is a violation of the maturation of mesenchymal cells that form elements of the intercellular substance of connective tissue, which will inevitably be accompanied by an increase).
Skin tasks of vitamin C
But with regard to the skin, it is well known that the main task of vitamin C is to repel the attacks of free radicals, creating, together with other antioxidants, a powerful extracellular and intracellular defense.
Due to the presence of three free valences, ascorbic acid reacts directly with superoxide anion, hydroxyl radical and numerous lipid peroxides formed in the process of peroxidation of lipids. But the main thing is that it can restore the antioxidant activity of vitamin E, which is much more effective in the lipophilic systems of the epidermis than hydrophilic vitamin C. The cooperation between these two vitamins perfectly suppresses the peroxidation of lipids in cell membranes, thereby including defense and recovery mechanisms that maintain normal limits.
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