Vitamin C
water-soluble vitamin and antioxidant essential for collagen synthesis, immune function, and skin brightening
Vitamin C or ascorbate is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits, berries and vegetables. It is found as a form of ascorbic acid. It is an essential nutrient involved in the repair of tissue, the formation of collagen, and the enzymatic production of certain neurotransmitters. It is required for the functioning of several enzymes and is important for immune system function. It is also an antioxidant. Most animals are able to synthesize their own vitamin C. However, higher primates (including humans), most bats, guinea pigs, some fish species, and some bird species must acquire it from dietary sources because a gene for a synthesis enzyme has mutations that render it dysfunctional; humans obtain this vitamin from those fruits and vegetables.
It is also a generic prescription medication and in some countries is sold as a non-prescription dietary supplement. As a therapy, it is used to prevent and treat scurvy, a disease caused by vitamin C deficiency. Vitamin C may be taken by mouth or by intramuscular, subcutaneous or intravenous injection. Various health claims exist on the supposition that moderate vitamin C deficiency increases disease risk, such as for the common cold, cancer or COVID-19.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Vitamin C” as water-soluble vitamin and antioxidant essential for collagen synthesis, immune function, and skin brightening. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q199678. The Library of Congress control number is sh85143977. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Vitamin C” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.