History of Scurvy

Carpenter, K. J. (1986). "The History of Scurvy and Vitamin C." Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge. 

For this book the authors have ranged far and wide to bring up to date all recent advances concerning the vitamin. The chapter on the history of scurvy is fascinating. One wonders why the conquest of this disease took so long when the answer was staring the doctors in the face , for so little of the vitamin is needed to prevent the disease. All the chapters are well researched and structures set forth in a clear manner. Of great importance and interest is the study of the medical aspects. 

Carpenter, Kenneth J. The History of Scurvy and Vitamin C. Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press, 1986. 

The history of scurvy and vitamin C are summarized in an annotated volume (Carpenter, 1986). t An account of the efforts to isolate the antiscorbutic factor and the controversy over the credit for its discovery is provided in the Journal of Nutrition (Jukes, 1988). 

HE Sauberlich. A history of scurvy and vitamin C. In L Packer, J Fuchs, eds. Vitamin C in Health and Disease. New York Marcel Dekker, 1997, pp. 1-24. 

I. Plasma Ascorbic Acid Levels. The measurement of plasma levels of ascorbic acid in populations has been used to provide more reliable data on average intakes than that obtained from the incidences of scurvy or from nutritional histories. It must be emphasized, however, that scurvy develops only in those individuals with plasma levels below those which can be accurately measured. Extensive studies have provided empirical correlations of expected plasma and white blood cell levels with different ascorbic acid intakes (L24, M24, S23). Other studies have also shown that both the ascorbic acid and the dehydroascorbic acid content of foods were equally effective in raising the plasma level of ascorbic acid (D8). 

History of Vitamin C and its Role in the Prevention and Cure of Scurvy 9... 

It is fortunate for the history of the cure of scurvy that Gilbert Blane became physician to the Household of the Prince of Wales. This gave him a social status and friendships which allowed him to have his strong views about the effectiveness of fruit in the cure of scurvy listened to in the right places. He was now able, through his friendship... 

K. J. Carpenter, The History of Vitamin C and Scurvy , Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1986. 

We now know that scurvy is a deficiency disease and it must have existed throughout all history. However, it was really the very long sea journeys of the early Middle Ages which drew attention to it, though any disasters which affected the food supply, such as sieges, would also result in an upsurge of scurvy. It would appear, however, that we can identify at least three major factors which contributed to the failure to recognise the cure for scurvy. 

The best clinical description of scurvy is that given by Lind (1753) he had greater experience of the disease than perhaps any other physician before or since and knew how to record his observations. In his study of the natural history and pathology of the disease he advanced knowledge about as far as it was possible to go without the aid of a microscope. Even so, he described the peculiar laxness of the tissues at autopsy—a change now known to be due to lack of collagen in the connective tissue. 

The history of vitamin C is common knowledge. In the mid-18th century James Lind demonstrated that the juice of fresh citrus fruits cures scurvy (197). The active agent, the enolic form of 3-keto-L-gulofuranlactone, christened ascorbic acid or vitamin C, was isolated in the late 1920 s by Albert Szent-Gybrgyi (317). By the mid-1930 s, methods had been devised to synthesize the compound, and it soon became widely available at low cost. It was soon established that the substance was virtually nontoxic at any dosage. The structure of vitamin C is shown in Chart 1. 

In 1248-54, Jean Sire de Joinville, the French chronicler, accompanied Louis IX of France to Cyprus and Egypt. In 1309, he completed in final form the History of Saint Louis, an account of the Crusade, in which he told of a disease (scurvy) "which attacked the mouth and the legs."... 

Among the vitamins, vitamin C has a long medical history. The Egyptian Ebers papyrus from 1550 bc already describes the avitaminose symptoms of scurvy. Scurvy is caused by a dietary lack of vitamin C, which the human as well as guinea pigs cannot synthesize. 

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