Vitamin C activity of D-isoascorbic acid for the guinea pig

Abstract

Guinea pigs fed with a synthetic diet or a rabbit ration were depleted of vitamin C for 17 days. The scorbutic animals were treated daily during 2 months with 40 mg D-isoascorbic acid (IAA) or 2 mg L-ascorbic acid (AA). Both isomers restored the growth of the animals and caused the disappearance of scorbutic symptoms. For 3 weeks, the two diets gave similar response, after which the animals fed with the rabbit ration grew much less. Animals given IAA ate less and had smaller weight gains than those given AA; this effect was overcome by pair-feeding. Only a small proportion of administered IAA was recovered in the organs and in the urine. The total ascorbic acid content (AA and IAA) of the IAA-treated animals was less than that of the AA-treated animals. The low AA content of the organs of the IAA-treated animals indicated that IAA had no significant sparing action on AA.