superior effect of vitamin C in the liposomal form in blood pressure disorders

Vitamin C is an essential nutrient for life. This very fragile vitamin owes its name to the disease induced by its deficiency, which once struck seafarers at sea, deprived of fresh food, scurvy. This disease was already known 1500 years before J.C and was described by Aristotle. The discovery of its importance is therefore nothing new!

Vitamin C at the crossroads of metabolic regulation

We need this vital substance daily, in sufficient quantity, because it conditions the proper conduct of many metabolic activities, which ensure homeostasis and balance in the body.

Unlike most mammals, humans lack the ability to synthesize it. We are also unable to store it for the long term. This is why it is important to ensure your daily intake through diet and supplementation.

Vitamin C, also known by its chemical name "ascorbic acid" plays many roles in the body:

•     It is a major antioxidant, which protects cells against oxidative stress
•     It participates in iron metabolism by facilitating its absorption
•     It helps to regenerate vitamin E in its reduced form
•     It is well known for its immune-boosting action
•     It is above all a co-factor in enzymatic reactions
•     It supports energy metabolism
•     Reduces fatigue and low energy

The daily needs of our body are important but are even more so when the disease is present.

The liposomal form, very useful for strengthening the activity of vitamin C

Vitamin C is an extremely fragile vitamin, which cannot stand the heat (and therefore disappears when cooked, especially with water). 90% of vitamin C is absorbed from the intestine. Above 180 mg/day, its absorption decreases because the mechanism is saturable. Although the body's needs for vitamin C are very important, its effective supplementation remains delicate: it remains fragile, easily deteriorated, and absorbable only in small quantities.

Vitamin C in liposomal form offers an unprecedented advance in cellular nutrition. A liposome is a microsphere form of phospholipids in which active ingredients can be encapsulated. This specific biochemical form, on the one hand, helps protect ascorbic acid throughout the digestive tract and preserves its integrity, and on the other hand, significantly increases its bioavailability. Indeed, this lipid preparation, of the same nature as the membrane which makes up each of our cells, acquires by liposomation a unique capacity of penetration. Liposomal vitamin C is then delivered to the heart of the cell, the real seat of nutrition.

Liposomal vitamin C, the most active form in the regulation of hypertension

While vitamin C's activity in cancer and immunity is well known, there are areas where this valuable vitamin can provide many services.

This is the case for the regulation of a very common disorder, hypertension. A study has just been published in January 2020 in IJMS (Iranian Journal of Medical Sciences), which compares the effectiveness of the activity of the liposomal form of vitamin C (ascorbic acid), with that more classic of a non-liposomal, in the regulation of hypertension, and on the modulation of vascular tension.

This study, on an animal model, aimed to compare the antihypertensive and vascular modifications induced by classic vitamin C and liposomal vitamin C. The main criteria used to assess this are the measurement of systolic blood pressure and heart rate. Compared to the non-liposomal form, the liposomal form was associated with greater effects on final blood pressure. Liposomal ascorbic acid showed relaxation activity at significantly lower concentrations.

This study shows that the liposomal form has undeniable advantages over conventional forms of vitamin C, it increases the bioavailability and activity of this precious vitamin.

These results support the studies already carried out on the advantages provided by liposomal forms in terms of cellular nutrition.

Khalili A, Alipour S, Fathalipour M, et al. Liposomal and Non-Liposomal Formulations of Vitamin C: Comparison of the Antihypertensive and Vascular Modifying Activity in Renovascular Hypertensive Rats. Iran J Med Sci. 2020; 45 (1): 41–49. doi: 10.30476 / ijms.2019.45310