318 ASCORBIC ACID 



reported, this procedure was not followed. ^^^ • "^ Iwabuchi"^ and Nagayama 

 and Tagaya^''^ stated that the fat content of tissues is decreased in experi- 

 mental scurvy in guinea pigs, particularly in the muscles and adrenals. 

 Other investigators-^' ■ ^^^ have also observed a reduction in body fat in 

 scurvy. However, Tomlinson-" found no definite abnormality in the lipid 

 content of the liver, kidneys, or adrenals in experimental scurvy in monkeys. 

 Beyer^^^ observed little difference in the fat content or structure of the livers 

 of scorbutic guinea pigs as compared to normal controls. Sadhu^^ found 

 that phospholipid and choline values were not altered in scurvy. MacLean 

 et al.^^ conducted a paired-feeding test to study the effect of inanition and 

 scurvy on the tissues of guinea pigs. Microscopic examination revealed a 

 normal condition of the livers in the scorbutic group, but determinations 

 were not made of the fat content. Baldwin et a/.'*" also used the paired- 

 feeding technique and found no significant differences in the amounts or 

 composition of the fat of the liver, adrenals, and carcass between scorbutic 

 and normal guinea pigs. Another group of investigators have found an in- 

 crease in liver fat in scurvy,'^' ■ ^^^' "^ but it is possible that some factor other 

 than lack of ascorbic acid may have been involved in producing the effect. 

 More work needs to be done on fat metabolism in the guinea pig. 



(2) Cholesterol. Mouriquand and Leulier-*" determined the cholesterol con- 

 tent of the blood and organs in experimental scurvy and found a marked 

 decrease in the content in the adrenals but no significant changes in the 

 other organs or in the blood. Randoin and Michaux-^' and Nagayama and 

 Tagaya'^^ reported that the amount of cholesterol in the adrenal capsule 

 of scorbutic guinea pigs is less than in that of normal animals. The latter 

 investigators found also that the amount of cholesterol in the lungs de- 

 creased markedly in scurvy. In the testes and muscles there was also a 

 slight decrease in cholesterol. Bessey et al.^^^ found that the most charac- 

 teristic lesion in the organs of scorbutic guinea pigs was the depletion of 

 fat and cholesterol from the cortex of the adrenals. Interest in the cholesterol 

 content of the adrenals and the hormonal factors influencing it has been 

 greatly stimulated by the investigations of Oesterling and Long.'^^"* In paired- 

 feeding experiments they have presented convincing evidence that in the 

 early stage of scurvy the adrenal cholesterol increases but that it decreases 

 markedly in the late stage of the disease. Sayers et al?^- reported that 

 injections of adrenotrophic hormone into rats and guinea pigs resulted in a 



2" T. H. Tomlinson, Public Health Repts. {U . S.) 57, 987 (1942). 

 "8 K. H. Beyer, Arch. Internal Med. 71, 315 (1943). 

 "9 A. Terbruggen, Verhandl. deut. pathol. Ges. 31, 114 (1938). 

 280 G. Mouriquand and A. Leulier, Compt. rend. sac. biol. 93, 1314 (1925). 

 =81 L. Randoin and A. Michaux, Compt. rend. soc. biol. 183, 1055 (1926). 

 "2 G. Sayers, M. A. Sayers, H. L. Lewis, and C. N. H. Long, Proc. Soc. Exptl. Biol. 

 Med. 55, 238 (1944). 



