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Effect of Ascorbic Acid on Serum Cholesterol Levels and on Die-Away Curves of 14C-4-Cholesterol in Baboons
Abstract
Fourteen young male baboons (Papio ursinus) were divided into two groups. All the animals received the same dietary regimen during a 2½-month adaptation period. During the next 3 months one group received 250 mg and the other 20 mg vitamin C daily. For the last 2½ months of the experiment no vitamin C was given to the first group, and that of the second group was increased to 350 mg daily. Simultaneously with the switchover, 14C-4-cholesterol was administered. A classical twopool system for the kinetic behaviour of cholesterol in the body was confirmed. Vitamin C treatment did not alter the serum cholesterol levels significantly, but the production rate was repressed. It was also shown that vitamin C was depleted from the body in a typical two-pool fashion.
S. Afr. Med. J., 48, 1182 (1974).
S. Afr. Med. J., 48, 1182 (1974).