Studies associated with ascorbic acid.

1) The effect of 1 g daily doses of L-ascorbic acid in reducing the incidence of the common cold in a group of volunteers was compared with a control group receiving a placebo, The survey lasted 16 weeks during the winter months of 1971/1972. The results (1) showed that the 47 volunteers receiving L-ascorbic acid suffered a total of 44 colds, whereas the 43 people taking dummy pills had 80 colds, That is, 1 g L-ascorbic acid/day reduced the incidence of cold symptoms by 49%. Pauling (2) has calculated an approximate