Metabolism of dehydroascorbic acid and the effect of adrenocorticotrophic hormone and cortisone

Abstract

When dehydroascorbic acid was injected into guinea pigs it had an antiscorbutic effect and raised the tissue level of ascorbic acid, but it did not appear in the tissues or urine. In urine there were increased amounts of oxidation products as estimated by the Roe and Kuether method. Much of the injected material was not accounted for. In guinea pigs, injected dehydroascorbic acid produced toxic symptoms which include atrophic changes in the fur, fatty liver, and death. In human subjects oral dehydroascorbic acid behaved quantitatively like ascorbic acid. Dehydroascorbic acid methanolate was safely injected. It was largely converted into, and increased plasma level and urinary excretion of ascorbic acid. Approximately 3 mg of dehydroascorbic acid were equivalent to 1 mg of ascorbic acid in this respect. In human subjects the injection of dehydroascorbic acid led to a greater rise in oxidation products than in ascorbic acid in plasma and urine. Dehydroascorbic acid did not appear in the urine. Cortisone and ACTH did not modify the tissue metabolism of dehydroascorbic acid injected into guinea pigs. Oxidation products of ascorbic acid did not appear in the adrenals. In one human subject the amount of ascorbic acid in the urine increased with ACTH. The oxidation products increased in one, and in another a small rise in dehydroascorbic acid excretion occurred.