Dehydroascorbic Acid - Structure and Physiology

Structure and Physiology

Although there exists a sodium-dependent transporter for vitamin C, it is mainly present in specialized cells, whereas the glucose transporters, most notably GLUT1, transport Vitamin C (in its oxidized form, DHA) in most cells, where recycling back to ascorbate generates the necessary enzyme cofactor and intracellular antioxidant, (see Transport to mitochondria).

The structure shown here for DHA is the commonly shown textbook structure. This 1,2,3-tricarbonyl is too electrophilic to survive more than a few milliseconds in aqueous solution, however. The actual structure shown by spectroscopic studies is the result of rapid hemiacetal formation between the 6-OH and the 3-carbonyl groups. Hydration of the 2-carbonyl is also observed. The lifetime of the stabilized species is commonly said to be about 6 minutes under biological conditions. Destruction results from irreversible hydrolysis of the ester bond, with additional degradation reactions following. Crystallization of solutions of DHA gives a pentacyclic dimer structure of indefinite stability. Recycling of ascorbate via active transport of DHA into cells, followed by reduction and reuse, mitigates the inability of humans to synthesize it from glucose.