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Vitamin Glossary

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Vitamin Glossary "C"

• candida albicans- small, oval budding fungus or yeast that is the primary disease causing organism of the infection moniliasis candidiasis, commonly referred to as candida.

   

• capillaries- any of the minute blood vessels, averaging 0.008 millimeter in diameter, carrying blood and forming the capillary system. Capillaries connect the ends of the smallest arteries with the beginnings of the smallest veins.

   

• carbohydrate- a chemical compound that contains only carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Found in plants, carbohydrates - which include all sugars, starches, and celluloses - constitute a major class of animal food and are a basic source of animal energy.

   

• carcinogenesis- the process of causing cancer, usually by altering DNA.

   

• carcinogens- cancer-producing agents.

   

• cardiac arrythmia- irregular beating of the heart.

   

• cardiovascular- relating to or involving the heart and blood vessels.

   

• carminative- plants that are rich in aromatic volatile oils. They stimulate the digestive system to work properly and with ease; soothe the gut wall; reduce any inflammation that might be present; ease gripping pains, and help with the removal of gas from the digestive tract.

   

• carotenoid- a class of very important antioxidants produced by plants which protects them from damage caused by singlet and triplet oxygen and free radicals produced during photosynthesis. Carotenoids also provide protection from UV damage and can prevent the development of cancer in experimental animals. They are usually colored bright yellow, orange or red. Carotenoids make carrots orange, and fall leaves a beautiful array of colors.

   

• cartilage- a translucent, elastic tissue that composes most of the skeleton of embryonic and very young vertebrates and is for the most part converted into bone in the higher vertebrates.

   

• CAT scanner- A modern diagnostic tool for which the inventors have received the Nobel Prize in medicine and physiology. CAT stands for computerized axial tomography. It provides x-ray or gamma ray images of the interior of the body with unprecedented clarity and detail. To make a regular x-ray, one's body is placed between the x-ray source and the x-ray detector which is usually a sheet of x-ray film. The x-ray image is a superimposed set of shadows of everything between the source and detector, which can make finding a minute tumor or a tiny blocked artery quite difficult. A CAT scanner scans the x-ray source and electronic x-ray detector completely around the body in a circle. A computer memorizes and displays a series of three dimensional cross sections of the CAT scanned body. From a diagnostic standpoint, it is the next best thing to actually cutting the person up; indeed, much unnecessary surgery has been prevented by the use of CAT scanners.

   

• catalase- an enzyme which catalyzes the breakdown of hygrogen peroxide in the body. Catalase is found in all organisms which require oxygen or can survive in its presence.

   

• catalyst- a chemical which acts to stimulate a particular chemical reaction, usually without itself being permanently chemically changed in the process. Enzymes are a dorm of biological catalyst. Iron and copper are powerful free radical autoxidation catalysts. The products of free radical autoxidation: hence the process is called autocatalytic. The spontaneous combustion of oil-based paint-soaked rags is autoctalytic autoxidation.

   

• catecholamines- a class of brain neurotransmitters (chemicals which serve to carry communications between nerves) which includes norephinephrine and dopamine. Both of these decline with age, particularly dopamine, with consequent decline of functions dependent on these catecholamines. The autoxidation of dopamine results in 6-OH-dopamine, hydrogen peroxide, and free radicals which damage the receptors for dopamine. 6-OH-dopamine autoxidation is suspected as being responsible for the pathetic "burn out" schizophrenic and may be involved in producing Parkinsonism.

   

• cell membranes- the membrane that encloses the cell. Composed of proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates.

   

• cellular acidosis- excessive acidity of body fluids due to an accumulation of acids, as in diabetic acidosis or renal disease.

   

• cellular edema- a condition in which the cells contain an excessive amount of fluid, which causes swelling of the cell membrane.

   

• central nervous system- the brain, spinal cord, optic nerves, retinas, auditory nerves, pituitary and pineal glands, hypothalmus, and other structures enclosed within the social membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord.

   

• cerebrospinal fluid- the fluid that surrounds the brain and the spinal cord.

   

• ceroid- an accumulated fluorescent pigment, commonly found in vitamin E deficient animals and humans.

   

• cervix- the narrow end of the uterus.

   

• chelation- the process of forming a closely associated complex with a metal in which the metal is surrounded by and multiply bound to part of an organic structure, thereby usually altering both the chemical reactivity and transport properties of the metal.

   

• chi- see Qi.

   

• cholesterol- a steroid alcohol present in animal cells and body fluids, important in physiological processes, and implicated experimentally as a factor in atherosclerosis.

   

• cholinergic- Those parts of the nervous system, both peripheral and in the brain, using acetylcholine as a neurotransmitter. Acetylcholine released at the synapse (junction) between a motor nerve and a muscle fiber causes the muscle fiber to contract. Acerylcholine is am important brain neurotransmitter, too, being involved in memory, long-term planning, control of mental focus, sexual activity, and other functions. It is made in the body from choline in reactions requiring the availability of adequate vitamin B-5 (as part of hte acetyl co-enzyme A).

   

• chromosomes- present in the nucleus of cells and containing the DNA which transmits genetic information, chromosomes contain the genes or hereditary determiners. The normal number of chromosomes for a human being is forty-six in all somatic cells.

   

• chronic- a disease or illness of long duration showing little change or of slow progression. Opposite of acute.

   

• circadian rhythm- pertains to events that occur at approximately twenty-four-hour intervals, such as certain physiological phenomena.

   

• circulating immune complexes (CIC)- also known as antigen-antibody complexes.

   

• Citric Acid Cycle- (also called the Kreb's Cycle and the Tricarboxylic Acid cycle) - this cycle stores energy, released by the oxidation of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates in foodstuffs, in high energy phosphate bonds of ATP. About 90 percent of the energy released from food occurs in the Citric Acid Cycle. In the process, a series of acids are oxidized to release the energy used in forming high-energy. ATP phosphate bonds, plus carbon dioxide and water. ATP is life's universal energy supply.

   

• clone- an identical twin of another cell or animal, with the same genetic intstructions (DNA). Nowadays, this term is sometimes used to refer to mass produced copies of a DNA strand, as in cloned DNA.

   

• coenzyme- an enzyme activator. A diffusible, heat-stable substance of low molecular weight that, when combined with an inactive protein called apoenzyme, forms an active compound or a complete enzyme called holoenzyme.

   

• colic- spasm, obstruction, or twisting in any hollow or tubular soft organ accompanied by pain.

   

• collagen- a structural protein of the connective tissues.

   

• complement- a system of protein molecules produced by the immune system which kills antibody-tagged foreign cells by making holes in their cell membranes.

   

• congestive heart failure- a condition characterized by weakness, breathlessness, abdominal discomfort, and edema in lower portions of body, resulting from venous stasis and reduced outflow of blood from the left side of the heart.

   

• conjunctiva- the mucous membrane that lines the eye and eyelid.

   

• controls- a technique used to evaluate experimental treatments by having two groups of experimental subjects, on to receive treatment, and one subjected to the same conditions but not given the treatment. This way, scientists can find out whether effects they are seeing are due to treatment or some other experimental condition. Non-controlled experiments are considered very difficult to evaluate because of the absence of controls with which to compare treated subjects.

   

• coronary artery disease- a narrowing of the coronary arteries which prevents adequate blood supply to the myocardium. Narrowing is usually caused by atherosclerosis, and may progress to the point where the heart muscle is damaged due to lack of blood supply.

   

• cortisol- an adrenocortical hormone, usually referred to pharmaceutically as hydrocortisone. Closely related to cortisone in physiological effects.

   

• coxsackievirus- a group of viruses first isolated in 1948 from two children in Coxsackie, New York. Most coxsackievirus infections in humans are mild, but the viruses do produce a variety of illnesses including septic meningitis (inflammation), herpangina (a benign infectious disease of children), epidemic pleurodynia (disease characterized by pain of sharp intensity in the chest accompanied by fever), acute upper respiratory infection, and myocarditis of the newborn (inflammation of the middle layer of the walls of the heart), among others. It is possible that infection during the first trimester of pregnancy can cause increased incidence of congenital heart lesions in newborns.

   

• craniosacral system- pertaining to the cranium and sacrum, including the brain, spinal cord, cerebrospinal fluid, surrounding membranes, and bones of the spine.

   

• cross-linking- an oxidation reaction in which indesirable bonds form between nucleic acids. (RNA and DNA, the genetic blueprint material) or between proteins, often as links between sulfut atoms called disulfide bonds, or between lipids or any combination thereof. The links may be between different proteins or nucleic acids or lipids or between parts of the same protein or nucleic acid or lipid. The result is that the molecule cannot assume the correct shape for proper functioning. Some cross-links are required in proteins for rigidity and structural strength. However, cross-links of an inappropriate, undesired nature form throughout life.

   

• cyanosis- a bluish discoloration of the skin due to abnormal amounts of reduced hemoglobin in the blood.

   

• cyst- a closed sac or pouch with a definite wall, that contains fluid, semifluid, or solid material.

   

• cystathionine- an intermediate compound in the metabolism of methionine to cysteine.

   

• cysteine- (as in cysteine hydrochloride) a sulfur containing amino acid found in many proteins. Valuable as a source of sulfur in metabolism.

   

• cytokines- chemical messengers that are involved in the regulation of almost every system in the body and are important in controlling local and systemic inflammatory response.

   

• cytomegalovirus- a virus related to the herpes virus that inhabits the salivary glands.

   

• cytotoxic- any substance which has the properties to harm or destroy cells.