ReviewNutrients2013
Myths, artifacts, and fatal flaws: identifying limitations and opportunities in vitamin C research.
Review in Nutrients, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 54 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
54 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 107 citations in OpenAlex.
- Enhanced Vitamin C Delivery: A Systematic Literature Review Assessing the Efficacy and Safety of Alternative Supplement Forms in Healthy Adults.Nutrients · 2025Pooled it
- Effect of Dietary or Supplemental Vitamin C Intake on Vitamin C Levels in Patients with and without Cardiovascular Disease: A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2021Pooled it
- Vitamin C Status and Cognitive Function: A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2017Pooled it
- Trial
- Micronutrients and omega-3 PUFAs to promote healthy ageing: informing a physiology-based complementation strategy.GeroScience · 2026Review
- Relationship Between Hypovitaminosis C, Obesity, and Features of Metabolic Syndrome-A Narrative Review.Nutrition reviews · 2026Review
- CDs/FeCo-ONSs Composite with Peroxidase-like Activity for Ascorbic Acid Detection.Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Do Liposomal Vitamin C Formulations Have Improved Bioavailability? A Scoping Review Identifying Future Research Directions.Basic & clinical pharmacology & toxicology · 2025Article
- The physiological functions of ascorbate in the development of cancer.Disease models & mechanisms · 2025Review
- Exploring the Ascorbate Requirement of the 2-Oxoglutarate-Dependent Dioxygenases.Journal of medicinal chemistry · 2025Review
- Dietary factors and their influence on immunotherapy strategies in oncology: a comprehensive review.Cell death & disease · 2024Review
- Ascorbate Uptake and Retention by Breast Cancer Cell Lines and the Intracellular Distribution of Sodium-Dependent Vitamin C Transporter 2.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Insight into the mechanism of HProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023Article
- Antioxidative Impact of Phenolics-Loaded Nanocarriers on Cytoskeletal Network Remodeling of Invasive Cancer Cells.ACS applied materials & interfaces · 2023Article
- Vitamin C: From nutrition to oxygen sensing and epigenetics.Redox biology · 2023Article
- In Situ Raman Analysis of Biofilm Exopolysaccharides Formed inInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Effect of liposomal formulation of ascorbic acid on corneal permeability.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Applications and Pharmacological Properties of Cactus Pear (Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Article
- Ascorbic Acid Deficiency Prevalence and Associated Cognitive Impairment in Alcohol Detoxification Inpatients: A Pilot Study.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Research progress to understand the role of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in human health has been slow in coming. This is predominantly the result of several flawed approaches to study design, often lacking a full appreciation of the redox chemistry and biology of ascorbic acid. In this review, we summarize our knowledge surrounding the limitations of common approaches used in vitamin C research. In human cell culture, the primary issues are the high oxygen environment, presence of redox-active transition metal ions in culture media, and the use of immortalized cell lines grown in the absence of supplemental ascorbic acid. Studies in animal models are also limited due to the presence of endogenous ascorbic acid synthesis. Despite the use of genetically altered rodent strains lacking synthesis capacity, there are additional concerns that these models do not adequately recapitulate the effects of vitamin C deprivation and supplementation observed in humans. Lastly, several flaws in study design endemic to randomized controlled trials and other human studies greatly limit their conclusions and impact. There also is anecdotal evidence of positive and negative health effects of vitamin C that are widely accepted but have not been substantiated. Only with careful attention to study design and experimental detail can we further our understanding of the possible roles of vitamin C in promoting human health and preventing or treating disease.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.