Q. How does vitamin C act in the body? What is the harm caused by insufficiency of vitamin C? Why was this deficiency also known as "sailors' disease"?
Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, participates in the metabolism of collagen and it is basic for the integrity of blood capillaries.
Scurvy is the disease caused by a lack of vitamin C it is characterized by tissue lesions in the lips, skin, joints and nose. Scurvy or scorbutus was also known as sailors' disease because in maritime voyages of the past it was not common to get on board food that contained vitamin C, like citric fruits. So the sailors became get ill with scurvy.