Effect of graded doses of erythorbic acid on ascorbic acid content of tissues of guinea pigs.

The effect of graded doses of erythorbic acid (ErA) on the content of ascorbic acid (AsA) in the tissues of guinea pigs administered AsA was studied. The guinea pigs were administered 5 mg AsA and 1, 5, 20, and 100 mg ErA; or 1 mg AsA and 1 and 20 mg ErA; or 20 mg AsA and 20 mg ErA for 16 days. The animals were then sacrificed, and the liver, adrenal glands, spleen, and kidneys were removed to determine the contents of AsA and ErA by using HPLC. The content of AsA in the tissues of the animals administered less than 5 mg ErA together with 5 mg AsA was not significantly different from that of the animals administered 5 mg AsA. The administration of 100 mg ErA together with 5 mg AsA caused a decrease in the amount of AsA in the tissues. The content of AsA in the tissues of the animals administered ErA together with 1 mg AsA was not significantly different from that of the animals administered 1 mg AsA. In the case of animals administered an equal amount of both AsA and ErA, the AsA tissue content was consistently much higher than that of ErA. These results indicated that the administration of relatively small amounts of ErA did not appear to reduce the availability of AsA.