Ascorbic Acid and Alloxan

Since it is known that alloxan will react with many substances, and because preliminary unpublished work in this laboratory suggested that ascorbic acid potentiated the action of alloxan, the effect of ascorbic acid on the diabetogenic action of alloxan was investigated. Experimental. Hooded rats weighing approximately 250 g were used in this study. These animals were fed Purina Dog Chow during the course of the investigation. The animals were fasted 24 hours before the experiment in order to obtain blood samples. Ascorbic acid was administered intravenously. It consisted of a solution of the free acid made up in distilled water so that 1 cc of solution contained 100 mg of the acid. Most of the animals which received the ascorbic acid, were given a 50 mg dose, while a few received 100 mg. d-Isoascorbic acid,* which was used as a control, was given at the same level as ascorbic acid. In all cases the intravenous injections were made in the tail of the rat. Following the immersion of the tail in warm water to dilate the veins, injection was easily accomplished using a 26-gauge needle. Alloxan was administered intraperitoneally as a 5% aqueous solution in dosage of 100 mg per kg body weight. Previous trials had shown that this amount of alloxan is just below the level necessary to produce diabetes in the test animals. Mapharsen (3-amino-4-hydroxyphenyl arsinoxide hydrochloride) was administered intravenously to a few rats at a dose level of 2 mg per rat.