Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is a key vitamin to animals and plants. This book looks at all aspects of vitamin C; its chemical and biochemical properties, its role in various plants and animals and its effect on our health. Written by an international team of experts, together they represent much of the expertise on vitamin C throughout the world.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced during the interaction of metabolism with oxygen. As ROS have the potential to cause oxidative damage by reacting with biomolecules, research on ROS has concentrated on the oxidative damage that results from exposure to environmental stresses and on the role of ROS in defence against pathogens. However, more recently, it has become apparent that ROS also have important roles as signalling molecules. A complex network of enzymatic and small molecule antioxidants controls the concentration of ROS and repairs oxidative damage, and research is revealing...