386 ASCORBIC ACID 



injection was twice as effective as that given by mouth. Similarly Klodt^- 

 found intravenous injections more effective than oral. A 25-mg. dose 

 injected intravenously was found to saturate the tissues whereas the same 

 amount administered orally was insufficient for saturation.-'' However, 

 Burns et al.*^ found the total loss of ascorbic acid during the first 24 hours 

 after administration was nearly equal whether the vitamin was given orally 

 or parenterally. The protective dosage was also equal in the two cases. 



h. Rate of Administration 



Rate of administration of the vitamin has a marked effect on the tissue 

 storage.'^' '^^ Bezssonoff and Wolozyn"^ reported that deprivation of the 

 vitamin in guinea pigs for 4 days or more produced an irreversible effect. 

 Young animals given 0.5 mg. per 100 g. of body weight every day by mouth 

 made normal growth, but if given seven times as much every seventh day 

 by injection or eight times as much every fourth day by mouth, growth 

 was stunted. Zilva^'' observed that an intake of 2 mg. per day produced 

 normal growth and well-being, whereas administration of the same total 

 amount every seventh day resulted in retarded growth and a tendency to 

 develop mild scurvy symptoms. Although it has been reported that adminis- 

 tration of the vitamin every second or third day has no obvious deterimental 

 effect,-^ • '"' it seems doubtful that this procedure would result in a completely 

 healthy condition, particularly if the growth is very rapid. Since guinea 

 pigs in their natural way of life ingest a small amount of the vitamin with 

 every mouthful of food, it would seem that a reasonable approach to this 

 procedure would represent the ideal regime. This suggestion is partially 

 supported by Penney and Zilva's finding-^ that, with oral administration 

 of 25 mg. of the vitamin in one dose, the content in the tissues was less 

 than half that found with the 25 mg. administered in 50 doses at 10-minute 

 intervals. However, this finding would probably hold for many substances 

 of which there is a plethora. 



c. Pregnancy and Lactation 



As indicated previously, there is increased need of the xdtamin during 

 pregnancy and lactation, the increased requirement for which in the guinea 

 pig has not been fully determined. Crampton and Bell'*^ found 2 to 5 mg. 

 per day sufficient for reproduction. In humans the requirement during this 

 period is reported to l)e increased fi'om two to six times.''*- "•* 



" J. J. Burns, II. B. Burch, and C. G. King, J. Biol. Chcni. 191, 501 (1951). 



« E. Jacobsen, Skand. Arch. Physiol. 72, 259 (1935). 



" N. Bezssonoff and M. Woloszyn, Compt. rend. soc. biol. 130, 922 (1939). 



« S. S. Zilva, Biochem. J. 35, 1240 (1941). 



" E. W. Crampton and J. M. Bell, Sci. Agr. 27, 57 (1947). 



48 F. Widenbauer, Klin. Wochschr. 16, 600 (1937). 



" A. Bucher, Miinch. Med. Wochschr. 84, 734 (1937). 



