Vitamin P Benefits

Vitamin P is not a vitamin in the usual sense. Rather, it is a collection of nutrients that are found in conjunction with vitamin C in citrus fruits, rose hips, grapes, onions, cherries, currants, plums, blackberries, apricots, green peppers, soy, tomatoes, buckwheat, broccoli and other foods. Collectively called bioflavonoids, vitamin P includes quercetin, hesperidin, citrin, rutin, catechins and other flavonoids. In general, vitamin P works in tandem with vitamin C, thereby enhancing many of that nutrient's functions, but flavonoids might exert benefits that are independent of vitamin C.

Discovery

Vitamin P was first characterized in 1936 by Dr. Albert Szent-Györgyi, a Hungarian scientist who discovered it in the white rind of citrus fruits. This nutrient -- or aggregation of nutrients -- is found mainly in the pulp of fruits and vegetables, rather than in their juices. The designation "P" was assigned to this group of flavonoids because they enhance the permeability of your capillaries to oxygen, carbon dioxide and nutrients.

Functions

According to the Linus Pauling Institute, flavonoids are potent scavengers of free radicals, so vitamin P is capable of serving as an antioxidant. However, its concentrations in your tissues are typically quite low, so its antioxidant role is probably a minor one. Vitamin P is also an effective chelator, or binder, of metal ions. Metal ions, such as copper and iron, generate free radicals in your body, so vitamin P helps to reduce oxidative damage by neutralizing them. Experts at Kings College London believe vitamin P's greatest benefits might stem from its ability to modify the expression of cellular genes, a process known as "cell signaling."

Cell Signaling

Cell signaling is a process that involves the stimulation or inhibition of specific genes that control the production of enzymes and other important biological molecules. By regulating the manufacture of these gene products, vitamin P can influence the synthesis of inflammatory chemicals, the "stickiness" of platelets and white blood cells, the rate of cell division and the formation of blood vessels in new or healing tissues. The cellular concentrations of flavonoids required to accomplish these tasks are far lower than those needed for antioxidant activity.

Benefits

A 2003 "Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry" study showed that vitamin P, in the form of quercetin, reduces the production of inflammatory molecules by immune cells. Other studies have demonstrated that vitamin P decreases the tendency of abnormal cells to grow and divide. Still others, such as a 1999 "Circulation" study, indicate that flavonoids improve the flexibility and integrity of your blood vessels. Although vitamin P has not been shown to prevent or cure any condition, consumption of flavonoid-rich foods or supplements might reduce your risks for cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease and other chronic conditions.

Considerations

The consumption of flavonoid-rich foods probably confers more benefits than taking individual flavonoid supplements, due to the availability of a wider array of these compounds in different foods and the potentially important nutrient interactions that cannot be obtained from supplements.