Possible Involvement of Vitamin C in Periodontal Disease-Diabetes Mellitus Association

• Published in: Nutrients Vol. 12; no. 2; p. 553
• Main Authors: Bogdan, Maria, Meca, Andreea Daniela, Boldeanu, Mihail Virgil, Gheorghe, Dorin Nicolae, Turcu-Stiolica, Adina, Subtirelu, Mihaela-Simona, Boldeanu, Lidia, Blaj, Mihaela, Botnariu, Gina Eosefina, Vlad, Cristiana Elena, Foia, Liliana Georgeta, Surlin, Petra
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 20-02-2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Acids; Antioxidants; Ascorbic acid; Ascorbic Acid - administration & dosage; Ascorbic Acid - metabolism; Cardiovascular disease; Chronic conditions; Chronic illnesses; Clinical trials; Clinical Trials as Topic; Cytokines; Diabetes; Diabetes Complications - complications; Diabetes Complications - metabolism; Diabetes Complications - therapy; Diabetes mellitus; Dietary Supplements; Enzymes; Free radicals; Fruits; Gene expression; Guava; Gum disease; Health care; Humans; Inflammation; Insulin; Metabolism; Minerals; Oxidative stress; Pathogenesis; Patients; Periodontal disease; Periodontal diseases; Periodontal Diseases - etiology; Periodontal Diseases - metabolism; Periodontics; Physiology; Plasma - chemistry; Review; Saliva - chemistry; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; Vitamin C; Vitamin deficiency; Vitamins; Vitamins - administration & dosage; Vitamins - metabolism; ascorbic acid; diabetes mellitus; vitamin C; periodontal disease
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu12020553

Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is an important water-soluble vitamin found in many fruits and vegetables. It has well-documented beneficial effects on the human body and is used as a supplement, alone or in combination with other vitamins and minerals. Over recent years, research has focused on possible new therapeutic actions in chronic conditions including periodontal disease (PD). We conducted a systematic review on clinical trials from four databases (PubMed, Clinical Trials, Cochrane, Web of Science) which measured plasmatic/salivary levels of ascorbic acid in PD-diabetes mellitus (DM) association. Six studies were included in our review, three of them analyzing patients with different grades of PD and DM who received vitamin C as a treatment (500 mg vitamin C/day for 2 months and 450 mg/day for 2 weeks) or as part of their alimentation (guava fruits), in combination with standard therapies and procedures. Decreased levels of vitamin C were observed in PD patients with DM but data about efficacy of vitamin C administration are inconclusive. Given the important bidirectional relationship between PD and DM, there is a strong need for more research to assess the positive effects of ascorbic acid supplementation in individuals suffering from both diseases and also its proper regimen for these patients.