vitamin P

n.
A water-soluble vitamin, found as a crystalline substance especially in citrus juices, that functions as a bioflavonoid in promoting capillary resistance to hemorrhaging.

Name given to a group of plant flavonoids (sometimes called bioflavonoids) which affect the strength of the walls of the blood capillaries: rutin (in buckwheat), hesperidin, eriodictin, and citrin (a mixture of hesperidin and eriodictin in the pith of citrus fruits). Although they are not dietary essentials they have antioxidant activity and some are phytoestrogens.

capillary permeability factor

A water-soluble coloured substance found in crystalline form in citrus fruits. It functions as a bioflavonoid and, in association with vitamin C, improves the permeability and integrity of the capillary lining. It is not a true vitamin, but was dubbed ‘vitamin P’ by Dr Albert Szent Gyorgi, a Hungarian scientist who gained the Nobel prize for his part in the discovery of vitamin C.

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