Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid or ascorbate, is a water-soluble vitamin synthesized in plants as well as in animals except humans and several other animal species. Humans obtain vitamin C from dietary sources and via vitamin supplementation. Vitamin C possesses important biological functions, including serving as a cofactor for many enzymes, acting as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compound, and participating in regulating stem cell biology and epigenetics. The multifunctional nature of vitamin C contributes to its essentialness in maintaining and safeguarding physiological homeostasis, especially regulation of immunity and inflammatory responses. In this context, vitamin C has been investigated for its efficacy in treating diverse inflammatory disorders, including sepsis, one of the major causes of death globally and for which currently there is no cure. Accordingly, this Mini-Review surveys recent major research findings on the effectiveness of vitamin C and the underling molecular mechanisms in sepsis intervention in both experimental animal models and randomized controlled trials. To set a stage for discussing the effects and mechanisms of vitamin C in sepsis intervention, this Mini-Review begins with an overview of vitamin C redox biochemistry and its multifunctional properties.

维生素 C，也称为抗坏血酸或抗坏血酸盐，是一种水溶性维生素，可在植物以及除人类和其他几种动物物种之外的动物体内合成。人类从膳食来源和维生素补充剂中获取维生素 C。维生素 C 具有重要的生物学功能，包括作为许多酶的辅助因子，作为抗氧化和抗炎化合物，以及参与调节干细胞生物学和表观遗传学。维生素 C 的多功能特性有助于其维持和维护生理稳态，尤其是调节免疫和炎症反应。在这种情况下，已经研究了维生素 C 在治疗多种炎症性疾病中的功效，包括败血症、全球死亡的主要原因之一，目前尚无治愈方法。因此，这篇小型评论调查了最近关于维生素 C 有效性的主要研究结果，以及在实验动物模型和随机对照试验中败血症干预的潜在分子机制。为讨论维生素 C 在脓毒症干预中的作用和机制奠定了基础，本小型综述首先概述了维生素 C 氧化还原生物化学及其多功能特性。