Decomposition of Vitamin C by Bacteria.

The decomposition of vitamin C by bacteria is of double interest to the bacteriologist. Preliminary in vitro studies by Young and James (1942) showed that enteric bacteria of the colon-aerogenes group destroy ascorbic acid with great facility; these findings suggest that, in spite of a diet adequate in this substance, symptoms of vitamin C deficiency in some persons may be traced to an intestinal flora high in ascorbic-acid-fermenting bacteria. Einhauser (1936), Hetenyi (1935) and Marin (1936) offer the suggestion that the failure of response to a diet rich in vitamin C, and the positive effects of intramuscular and intravenous injections of this substance, indicate bacterial destruction of ascorbic acid in the gastro-intestinal tract before absorption can take place. The extreme importance of vitamin C in human physiology and the significance of loss of this substance to the body, regardless of the manner of destruction, are becoming increasingly evident as the result of war research and conditions arising naturally or unavoidably among the fighting forces. Holmes (1942) has indicated that vitamin C may be destroyed by infection, by a number of industrial poisons of a military nature, especially materials used in the manufacture of T.N.T., and that appreciable quantities are lost in heavy perspiration. He reviews the beneficial effects of vitamin C therapy in various types of shock, including heat, traumatic, post-operative and allergic shock. Vitamin C appears to play a significant role in the healing of fractures and of wounds in general. Results reported by Holmes indicate that administration of the vitamin is very effective in the treatment of poisoning due to benzene, toluene, lead, zinc, and basic materials used in the manufacture of T.N.T. and other explosives. Detoxification followed adequate therapy, and there was a repairing action of the poisoned blood formation centers and other affected tissue. Thus, it appears that in numerous common pathological conditions the function of vitamin C extends far beyond the role which it plays in normal metabolism, and that the amount required under these conditions greatly exceeds that needed daily by normal human adults, which according to King and Menten (1935) is only 5 milligrams. Apart from the influence on human nutrition, the relation of microbic destruction of ascorbic acid to bacterial metabolism is also of considerable interest. Kendall and Chinn (1938) suggested that the vitamin is used by some bacterial species as a carbon food source. The results of preliminary work by Young and James (1942) indicate that the vitamin is utilized in growth as an energy source by certain enteric bacteria. The decomposition was found to take place under