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Cited by 88Vitamin C and Antioxidants ResearchAntioxidant Activity and Oxidative StressExercise and Physiological Responses

Human skeletal muscle ascorbate is highly responsive to changes in vitamin C intake and plasma concentrations

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Carr, Anitra C, Bozonet, Stephanie M, Pullar, Juliet M, Simcock, Jeremy W, Vissers, Margreet CM·2013·The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
DOI 10.3945/ajcn.112.053207PMC PMC3607654
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Abstract

Background Vitamin C (ascorbate) is likely to be essential for skeletal muscle structure and function via its role as an enzyme cofactor for collagen and carnitine biosynthesis. Vitamin C may also protect these metabolically active cells from oxidative stress. Objective We investigated the bioavailability of vitamin C to human skeletal muscle in relation to dietary intake and plasma concentrations and compared this relation with ascorbate uptake by leukocytes. Design Thirty-six nonsmoking men were randomly assigned to receive 6 wk of 0.5 or 2 kiwifruit/d, an outstanding dietary source of vitamin C. Fasting blood samples were drawn weekly, and 24-h urine and leukocyte samples were collected before intervention, after intervention, and after washout. Needle biopsies of skeletal muscle (vastus lateralis) were carried out before and after intervention. Results Baseline vastus lateralis ascorbate concentrations were ~16 nmol/g tissue. After intervention with 0.5 or 2 kiwifruit/d, these concentrations increased ~3.5-fold to 53 and 61 nmol/g, respectively. There was no significant difference between the responses of the 2 groups. Mononuclear cell and neutrophil ascorbate concentrations increased only ~1.5- and ~2-fold, respectively. Muscle ascorbate concentrations were highly correlated (P < 0.001) with dietary intake (R = 0.61) and plasma concentrations (R = 0.75) in the range from 5 to 80 μmol/L. Conclusions Human skeletal muscle is highly responsive to vitamin C intake and plasma concentrations and exhibits a greater relative uptake of ascorbate than leukocytes. Thus, muscle appears to comprise a relatively labile pool of ascorbate and is likely to be prone to ascorbate depletion with inadequate dietary intake. This trial was registered at the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (www.anzctr.org.au) as ACTRN12611000162910.

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  • The kinetics of uptake varies between tissues, with vitamin C levels in some organs (e.g., the brain) reaching a plateau at lower plasma vitamin C status, whereas other tissue levels (e.g., skeletal muscle) continue to increase in close association with increasing plasma supply.

    “The kinetics of uptake varies between tissues, with vitamin C levels in some organs (e.g., the brain) reaching a plateau at lower plasma vitamin C status, whereas other tissue levels (e.g., skeletal muscle) continue to increase in close association with increasing plasma supply [32,44,45,48].”

    From The Roles of Vitamin C in Skin Health. (2017) · cites this paper as [32]

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Authors
Carr, A. C., Bozonet, S. M., Pullar, J. M., Simcock, J. W., & Vissers, M. C.
Affiliations
University of Otago (NZ)
Corresponding author
Carr, Anitra C
ORCID
Venue
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2013-04
Volume
97
Issue
4
Pages
800-807
ISSN
0002-9165 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3945/ajcn.112.053207
PMC
PMC3607654
OpenAlex
W2110097866
Cited by
88
References
51
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 10
FWCI
7.31
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
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, skeletal muscle, kiwifruit, dietary intake, plasma ascorbate, vastus lateralis, oxidative stress, ascorbate depletion
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Ascorbic Acid, Biological Availability, Diet, Fruit, Humans, Leukocytes, Mononuclear, Male, Neutrophils, Vitamins, Muscle, Skeletal, Actinidia, Young Adult

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