Vitamin C Might Lower Serum Uric Acid

Data from several small studies have suggested that large doses of vitamin C exert a uricosuric effect. To determine whether vitamin C supplementation lowers levels of serum uric acid, researchers at Johns Hopkins University analyzed data from 184 adults enrolled in a randomized trial of vitamin C for other purposes.

Subjects received either vitamin C (500 mg ascorbate daily) or placebo. At baseline, mean serum uric acid was about 5.1 mg/dL; at 2 months, uric acid levels had decreased significantly (mean decrease, 0.5 mg/dL) in the vitamin C group but remained unchanged in the placebo group. Among 21 subjects with baseline serum uric acid higher than 7.0 mg/dL, vitamin C reduced uric acid levels by an average of 1.5 mg/dL.