**7.1 Role of vitamin C in the health and functionality of the skin**

It is easy to deduce how important is the skin and the need to keep it in a healthy state, nutrition plays a very important role in this health since as we will see later, the human body is unable to synthesize vitamin C so an adequate exogenous supply is needed.

Certain nutritional alterations affect the integrity of the skin as well as its main biological functions. *In vitro* and *in vivo* cellular studies have highlighted the importance of micronutrients in skin health. These micronutrients can also be used as the therapeutic agents in the treatment of different skin pathologies and as ingredients in cosmetic products.

In the specific case of vitamin C, we know that its presence in the body at adequate concentrations is vital for the growth and maintenance of bone health, dental, gums, ligaments, and blood vessels, and in the process of collagen synthesis.

Vitamin C is present in the body in two forms: L-ascorbic acid (reduced form) and L-dehydroascorbic acid (oxidized form). As a result of a mutation in the geneencoding L-gulonolactone oxidase, an enzyme required for the synthesis of vitamin C, man, and other primates is unable to synthesize this vitamin, requiring an exogenous supply.

The pioneer in the study of vitamin C and the pathologies associated with its deficiency, as well as its clinical and cutaneous manifestations, was Dr. James Lind
