The authors studied on the relationship between impaired collagen formation and skeletal deformity in ascorbic acid-deficient fish. Young rainbow trout given an ascorbic acid-free diet showed significant decreases in the hydroxyproline content and the content ratio of hydroxyproline to proline in the collagen fraction of skin and bone before they developed the apparent symptoms of scurvy, such as lordosis, scoliosis, and exophthalmus, after 21〜24 weeks. An underhydroxylated thermally labile collagen was accumulated in the tissues of the ascorbic acid-deficient fish. The rate of development of skeletal deformity increased markedly in the ascorbic acid-deficient group which was maintained initially at 16℃ with subsequent rise of water temperature to 20℃,. These results indicate that underhydroxylated collagen is denatured and digested at higher temperature, resulting in the low collagen content of the connective tissues, and finally developing a fragile bone structure. Key Words: ascorbic acid, collagen formation, skeletal deformity, underhydroxylated collagen, fish
抄録全体を表示