Vitamin C deficiency: more than just a nutritional disorder Ghent University
Although vitamin C deficiency and scurvy are generally considered as pure nutritional disorders, only a minority of the vitamin C concentration is determined by food intake. In the presence of transition metals (iron and copper), the antiscorbutic factor shifts from an antioxidant to a pro-oxidant function. Haptoglobin (Hp) is a plasma alpha-2 glycoprotein characterized by 3 common phenotypes (Hp 1-1, Hp 2-1 and Hp 2-2). Its free hemoglobin ...