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Cited by 143Vitamin C and Antioxidants ResearchAntioxidant Activity and Oxidative StressExercise and Physiological Responses

Vitamin C and the common cold

Open access
Hemilä, Harri·1992·British Journal Of Nutrition
DOI 10.1079/bjn19920004
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Abstract

The effect of vitamin C on the common cold has been the subject of several studies. These studies do not support a considerable decrease in the incidence of the common cold with supplemental vitamin C. However, vitamin C has consistently decreased the duration of cold episodes and the severity of symptoms. The benefits that have been observed in different studies show a large variation and, therefore, the clinical significance may not be clearly inferred from them. The biochemical explanation for the benefits may be based on the antioxidant property of vitamin C. In an infection, phagocytic leucocytes become activated and they produce oxidizing compounds which are released from the cell. By reacting with these oxidants, vitamin C may decrease the inflammatory effects caused by them. Scurvy, which is caused by a deficiency in vitamin C, is mostly attributed to the decreased synthesis of collagen. However, vitamin C also participates in several other reactions, such as the destruction of oxidizing substances. The common cold studies indicate that the amounts of vitamin C which safely protect from scurvy may still be too low to provide an efficient rate for other reactions, possibly antioxidant in nature, in infected people.

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  • Vitamin C is an efficient water-soluble antioxidant and its effects on the immune system can be explained by protection against oxidative stress generated during infections.

    “Vitamin C is an efficient water‐soluble antioxidant and the effects on the immune system can be explained by the protection against oxidative stress generated during infections (Akaike 2001; Castro 2006; Hemilä 1992).”

    From Vitamin C for preventing and treating the common cold (2013) · cites this paper as Hemilä 1992

    The Biochemical model section proposes that vitamin C may protect against oxidants produced by immune cells during a common cold, and Other effects of vitamin C describes a possible protective effect on neutrophils. The paper also calls vitamin C an antioxidant under normal physiological conditions. It does not establish this mechanism for vitamin C’s effects on the immune system generally, or explicitly characterize it as an efficient water-soluble antioxidant. (LLM, conf=0.82)

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4 of the 132 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. Elliott, B. (1973). Ascorbic acid; efficacy in the prevention of symptoms of respiratory infection on a Polaris submarine. International Research Communications System/Medical Science 1 (3), 12. http://www.ltdk.helsinki.fi/users/hemila/CC/Elliott_1973_ch.pdf
  2. Lehrer, R. I., Ganz, T., Selsted, M. E., Babior, B. M. & Curnutte, J. T. (1988). Neutrophils and host defence. Annals of Internal Medicine 109, 127-142.
  3. Stendahl, O., Coble, B.-I., Dahlgren, C., Hed, J. & Molin, L. (1984). Myeloperoxidase modulates the phagocytic activity of polymorphonuclear neutrophil leukocytes. Journal of Clinical Investigation 73, 366-373. http://www.jci.org/articles/view/111221
  4. Truswell, A. S. (1986). Ascorbic acid. New England Journal of Medicine 315, 709.

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Authors
Hemilä, H.
Affiliations
University of Helsinki (FI)
Corresponding author
Hemilä, Harri
ORCID
Hemilä, Harri
Venue
British Journal Of Nutrition
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Published
1992-01
Volume
67
Issue
1
Pages
3-16
ISSN
  • 0007-1145 (ISSN-L)
  • 1475-2662
DOI
10.1079/bjn19920004
OpenAlex
W2130604466
Cited by
143
References
132
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 4 · 2017: 3 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 2
FWCI
2.00
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified, 5546 d)
Locations
  • British Journal Of Nutrition (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Työväentutkimus Vuosikirja (submittedVersion)
  • Työväentutkimus Vuosikirja (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Vitamin C and Antioxidants Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Biochemistry › Antioxidant Activity and Oxidative Stress
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Rehabilitation › Exercise and Physiological Responses
Keywords
vitamin C, common cold, vitamin C supplementation, symptom severity, antioxidant activity, scurvy, collagen synthesis, phagocytes, oxidative stress, infection
MeSH terms
Antioxidants, Ascorbic Acid, Chemotaxis, Leukocyte, Clinical Trials as Topic, Common Cold, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Histamine Antagonists, Humans, Neutrophils, Phagocytosis, Time Factors

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