Abstract
This chapter presents an account of ascorbic acid. The importance of L-ascorbic acid in the prevention of scurvy has been known. L-ascorbic acid is synthesized in a variety of plants and in all mammals, except primates and the guinea pig. The chapter also presents mechanisms for the biosynthesis of L-ascorbic acid in plants and animals, along with those involved in its catabolism. Studies have disclosed new enzymic reactions for compounds, such as D-glucuronic acid, D-galacturonic acid, L-gulonic acid, and L-xylulose. The chapter presents the metabolic pathways involved in the formation and degradation of L-ascorbic acid in animals and plants. It has been demonstrated that L-gulonolactone, L-galactonolactone, D-glucuronolactone, and methyl-D-galacturonate do not convert to L-ascorbic acid in cress seedlings. The mechanism for the conversion of glucose to D-glucuronic acid is via the oxidation of uridine diphosphoglucose to uridine diphosphoglucuronic acid (UDPGA), a reaction catalyzed by a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD)-linked enzyme in the soluble fraction of liver.
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