OCUVITE PRESERVISION

Ascorbic acid, coupled with dehydroascorbic acid to which it is reversibly oxidised, has a variety of functions in cellular oxidation processes. Ascorbic acid is required in several important hydroxylations, including the conversion of proline to hydroxyproline and appears to have an important role in metal ion metabolism, including the gastrointestinal absorption of iron and its transport between plasma and storage organs.

Copper is a mineral that is found throughout the body. Copper helps the body absorb iron. It is also important for nerve function, bone growth, and to help your body use sugar. It also helps form collagen, a key part of bones and connective tissue. Copper may also act as an antioxidant, reducing free radicals that can damage cells and DNA.

Vitamin A plays an important role in the visual process. It is isomerised to the 11-cis isomer and subsequently bound to the opsin to form the photoreceptor for vision under subdued light. Vitamin A also participates in the formation and maintenance of the integrity of epithelial tissues and mucous membranes.

Vitamin E is known to exert an important physiological function as an antioxidant for fats, with a sparing action on vitamin A, carotenoids and on unsaturated fatty acids. Other work has demonstrated that vitamin E is connected with the maintenance of certain factors essential for the normal metabolic cycle.

Zinc blocks the intestinal absorption of copper from the diet and the reabsorption of endogenously secreted copper. Zinc induces the production of metallothionein in the enterocyte, a protein that binds copper thereby preventing its transfer into the blood. The bound copper is then eliminated in the stool following desquamation of the intestinal cells.