Abstract
Adult male albino rats were exposed to various stressor agents such as forced muscular exercise, cold and X-ray irradiation, and the changes of ascorbic acid, dehydroascorbic acid, diketogulonic acid and reduced glutathione contents in the liver, kidney and adrenal tissues were observed. The daily excretion of total vitamin C in the urine was also determind. The stressor agents caused remarkable decrease in ascorbic acid content, not only in the adrenals but also in the liver and kidney. Reduced glutathione in the blood and liver was also decreased. It is considered that the decrease of ascorbic acid induced by stressor agents is related, in part at least, to the decrease of reduced glutathione. Total vitamin C excretion increased after the exposure to cold, but this could not account for the decreased amount of the tissue ascorbic acid. It is suggested also that stressor agents may increase the requirement of vitamin C in the organism.
