Mineral-ascorbic acid interaction

There is a danger of creating new imbalances by careless use of supplements of vitamins and trace minerals, hormones and drugs. Examples of interaction between trace elements and vitamins include the following vitamin C (ascorbic acid) enhances the biological availability of iron, de-... 

Biological Interaction of Ascorbic Acid and Mineral Nutrients... 

In the diet and at the tissue level, ascorbic acid can interact with mineral nutrients. In the intestine, ascorbic acid enhances the absorption of dietary iron and selenium reduces the absorption of copper, nickel, and manganese but apparently has little effect on zinc or cobalt. Ascorbic acid fails to affect the intestinal absorption of two toxic minerals studied, cadmium and mercury. At the tissue level, iron overload enhances the oxidative catabolism of ascorbic acid. Thus, the level of dietary vitamin C can have important nutritional consequences through a wide range of inhibitory and enhancing interactions with mineral nutrients. 

Nature and Scope of Ascorbic Acid Mineral Interaction... 

Within the body, ascorbic acid and minerals have two additional levels of important interaction in the tissue storage and turnover of ascorbic acid and in the synthesis of tissues and organs. The apparent decrease in the half-life of ascorbic acid in the presence of excess iron is an example of the former interaction, whereas the simultaneous participation of vitamin C, calcium, and phosphorus in the formation of growing bone is an example of the latter. 

Given the eflFects of ascorbic acid on the absorption of iron and copper, investigators have been interested in possibly significant interactions with zinc. The absorption of zinc and other divalent mineral ions was studied using an isolated, filled duodenal loop in situ in the rat (58). A lO -M zinc solution was infused in the presence or absence of 10" M ascorbate or dehydroascorbate. A two-thirds reduction in the... 

Interaction of Ascorbic Acid with Toxic Minerals... 

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