Abstract
WE have put forward previously the view that vitamin P acts upon vitamin C as a ‘sparing factor' by slowing down its oxidation; this factor should be indispensable, for without it the organism would need vitamin C in much larger quantities than can be supplied by a normal diet1. This theory led us to carry out two series of experiments. The first showed that various substances capable of raising the mean capillary resistance of a group of guinea pigs decrease in vitro oxidation of l-ascorbic acid2. The other showed that l-ascorbic acid, administered to guinea pigs, even in large doses and over a long period, is inefficient if the animals are given at the same time a diet deficient in an ascorbic acid economizing factor. Conversely, if vitamin P is added, l-ascorbic acid, even in small doses, becomes fully efficient ; vitamin P alone, without ascorbic acid, has no effect. The tests used were the mean capillary resistance of a group of guinea pigs and the histological picture of the thyroid gland and of the cortico-adrenal gland3.
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References
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COTEREAU, H., GABE, M., GÉRO, E. et al. Influence of Vitamin P (Vitamin C2) upon the Amount of Ascorbic Acid in the Organs of the Guinea Pig. Nature 161, 557–558 (1948). https://doi.org/10.1038/161557a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/161557a0
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