TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page – – – – – – – – – i
Certification – – – – – – – – – ii
Dedication – – – – – – – – – iii
Acknowledgements – – – – – – – iv-v
Table of Contents – – – – – – – – vi-viii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER TWO
- STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF VITAMIN C 6-8
- Biochemical Roles of Vitamin C – – – – 8-11
- Vitamin C as an Antioxidant – – – – – 11-13
- Collagen Synthesis – – – – – – 13-15
- Absorption of Iron – – – – – – 15-17
- Sources of Vitamin C – – – – – – 17-18
- Dietary Recommendation for Vitamin C – – – 19-22
- Deficiency of Vitamin C – – – – – – 22-23
- Biochemical Roles of Vitamin C – – – – 8-11
CHAPTER THREE
- THE ROLE OF VITAMIN C IN FATTY ACID OXIDATION 24-29
- Fatty Acid Oxidation – – – – – – 29-30
3.2 Transportation of Fatty Acid from the Cytosol to
the Mitochondria – – – – – – 30-32
- Vitamin C and Fatty Acid Oxidation – – – 32-35
- The Role of Carnitine – – – – – – 35-37
- Vitamin C Deficiency and Fatty Acid Oxidation – – 37-39
CHAPTER FOUR: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
- Summary – – – – – – – 40
- Conclusion – – – – – – – 40-41
- Recommendations – – – – – – 41
References
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.0 Background of the Study
The prevalence of overweight and obesity has risen at an alarming rate over the past couple of decades in the United States (Wang et al., 2008). Consequently, the incident of weight – related health complications such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer has risen as well (Wang et al., 2008: Garcia et al. 2009), leading to a dramatic increase in health care costs. In facts, the average annual health care cost of an obese individual in the United States is over $1000 higher than that of a normal weight individual (Wang et al. 2008). Considering the urgency in of this problem, it is clear that further research is essential in order to better understand the physiological mechanisms responsible for weight loss and healthy weight maintenance.
Research has repeatedly shown an inverse relationship between vitamin C and both weight and body fatness (Garcia et al.,2012; Johnston et al., 2007). In fact, there is multiple hypothesis attempting to explain this relationship. One hypothesis argues that levels of vitamin C are decreased in response to the state of oxidative stress that is caused by excess weight (Garcia et al. 2012). Another theory maintains that low levels of vitamin C causes a decrease in carnitine production, thereby slowing the rate of b-oxidation, otherwise known as fatty acid oxidation (Johnston et al. 2007). Vitamin C serves as a cofactor that maintains the necessary enzyme activity for carnitine synthesis. Carnitine is essential for the process of fatty acid b-oxidation, acting as a shuttle that moves long-chain fatty acids from cell cytosol to the mitochondria to be metabolized (Grapper et al., 2009). Several studies have shown that in a state of vitamin C depletion, there is a decrease in carnitine production (Okamoto et al. 2006; Savini et al. 2005).