16 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 374 



III. POSSIBLE RELATIONSHIP OF VITAMIN C AND 

 ARTHRITIS 



By W. B. Esselen, Jr., and C. R. Fellers, 

 Department of Horticultural Manufactures 



An insufficient amount of vitamin C in the diet probably favors the 

 development of certain types of arthritis, according to Rinehart (1, 2) 

 and also Abbasy, Gray, and Harris (3). On the assumption that the 

 above statement is true, experiments were conducted in an eflfort to de- 

 termine whether or not minerals and vitamins when added to the diet 

 of guinea pigs would in any way alter the pathological symptoms of 

 scurvy (resulting from a deficiency of vitamin C), which in turn may be 

 a precursor to arthritis. Any positive findings might indicate dietary 

 deficiencies which, when combined with a deficiency of vitamin C, might 

 later favor the onset of arthritis. In certain respects scurvy is similar 

 to arthritis, and in clinical work subacute scurvy has frequently been 

 mistaken for rheumatism. 



The Influence of Iodine and Kelp on Scurvy 



Both preventive and curative methods were used in studying the in- 

 fluence of iodine and kelp on scurvy. These substances were added to 

 vitamin C-free and vitamin C-deficient diets, and the influence on the 

 resistance of guinea pigs to scurvy was determined. Iodine is sometimes 

 used therapeutically in the treatment of arthritis, and for this reason it 

 was used here. Kelp was used because it is a rich source of other min- 

 erals as well as iodine. The iodine was administered to the guinea pigs 

 in the form of iodized milk (i.e., milk with 9 drops of U.S.P. tincture of 

 iodine added per quart). Both iodized raw and iodized pasteurized milk 

 were used in order to find out whether the pasteurization process had 

 any effect on the value of milk for such purposes. 



The composition of the kelp employed in this experiment was as fol- 

 lows: 



Analysis of Kelp Percent 



Moisture ■ 5.0 



Protein 5.6 



Fat 0.4 



Nitrogen-free extract, by difference 40.6 



Crude fiber 12.1 



Ash 36.3 



Total 100.0 



