Functional role of ascorbic acid in the central nervous system: a focus on neurogenic and synaptogenic processes

ABSTRACT

Ascorbic acid, a water-soluble vitamin, is highly concentrated in the brain and participates in neuronal modulation and regulation of central nervous system (CNS) homeostasis. Ascorbic acid has emerged as a neuroprotective compound against neurotoxicants and neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Moreover, it improves behavioral and biochemical alterations in psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, anxiety, major depressive disorder, and bipolar disorder. Some recent studies have advanced the knowledge on the mechanisms associated with the preventive and therapeutic effects of ascorbic acid by showing that they are linked to improved neurogenesis and synaptic plasticity. This review shows that ascorbic acid has the potential to regulate positively stem cell generation and proliferation. Moreover, it improves neuronal differentiation of precursors cells, promotes adult hippocampal neurogenesis, and has synaptogenic effects that are possibly linked to its protective or therapeutic effects in the brain.

KEYWORDS:

• Ascorbic acid
• neurogenesis
• synaptogenesis
• synaptic plasticity
• neurodegenerative diseases
• cell proliferation
• neuronal differentiation
• depression

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by grants from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) [grant number 310113/2017-2], and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Ensino Superior (CAPES). ALSR is a CNPq Research Fellow.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that no financial support or compensation has been received from any individual or corporate entity over the past three years for research or professional service and there are no personal financial holdings that could be perceived as constituting a potential conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico: [Grant Number 310113/2017-2].

Notes on contributors

Morgana Moretti

Morgana Moretti is a biologist, PhD. in Biochemistry, and currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Biochemistry Department at Federal University of Santa Catarina (Brazil). She has extensive experience conducting research projects focused on the neurobiology and pharmacology of depression, with emphasis on the molecular mechanism of antidepressants.

Ana Lúcia S. Rodrigues

Ana Lúcia S. Rodrigues obtained her master’s degree in Biochemistry at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul and her doctoral degree in Biochemistry at Federal University of Paraná, Brazil. She is full professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil where she is the team leader of the Neurobiology of Depression Laboratory. Her research interests are to gain a better understanding on the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the antidepressant effects of several compounds in animal models of depression. Alterations in the intracellular signal transduction pathways associated with these models and modulated by these compounds are particularly focused on her current research.