METABOLISM OF DEHYDROASCORBIC ACID IN HUMAN SUBJECTS

Abstract

300mg of DAsA was administered orally to three subjects, and the vitamin C levels in the blood and urine were determined, and the results were compared with those after administering 300mg of AsA. The following findings were obtained in the present experiment.
1. In the case of DAsA administration, AsA alone increased in the urine, whereas DAsA and DKG remained almost unchanged. It was also the case with AsA administration.
2. In the case of DAsA administration, the rise of vitamin C levels in the blood and the urinary excretion of AsA were more rapid than in the case of AsA administration.
3. When the subject, having the same total vitamin C levels in the blood, is given the equivalent amounts of DAsA or AsA, about the same amounts of AsA is excreted in the urine.
4. DAsA is not only absorbed through the digestive tract more quickly than AsA, but also the levels of AsA in the erythrocytes increase rapidly.
5. In vitro experiment showed that the permeability of DAsA through the erythrocyte membrane was markedly greater than that of AsA, and that the DAsA in the erythrocytes was quickly reduced to AsA.