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Related Experiment Videos

"Recommended daily allowances" for vitamin C.

M L Yew

    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
    |April 1, 1973
    PubMed
    Summary

    This study suggests that the recommended daily intake of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) may be significantly underestimated. Guinea pigs required much higher doses than previously thought, especially under stress, indicating potential public health concerns for human needs.

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    La Cellule·1969

    Area of Science:

    • Biochemistry
    • Human Nutrition
    • Animal Models

    Background:

    • The precise daily requirement of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) for human health remains undetermined 41 years after its identification.
    • Previous suggestions of significantly underestimated vitamin C needs have often been dismissed without rigorous scientific evidence.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To investigate the optimal ascorbic acid intake in young guinea pigs, using various physiological markers.
    • To compare the estimated human ascorbic acid needs based on guinea pig data with current recommendations.

    Main Methods:

    • Young, healthy guinea pigs were fed a vitamin C-deficient diet supplemented with ascorbic acid at four different levels (0.05, 0.5, 5.0, and 50 mg/100 g body weight/day).
    • Physiological parameters including growth rates (pre- and post-surgical stress), anesthesia recovery, scab formation, wound healing, and hydroxyproline/hydroxylysine production were monitored.

    Main Results:

    • Guinea pigs demonstrated optimal health and healing at an ascorbic acid intake of approximately 5.0 mg/100 g body weight daily, a level far exceeding that needed to prevent scurvy.
    • Under surgical stress, ascorbic acid requirements were observed to be even higher.
    • Extrapolated to a 30-kg human child, this daily requirement is estimated at 1500 mg of ascorbic acid.

    Conclusions:

    • The study concludes that the daily requirement for young guinea pigs is around 5.0 mg/100 g body weight, significantly higher than levels preventing scurvy.
    • The findings highlight a substantial discrepancy (nearly 40-fold) compared to current Food and Nutrition Board recommendations for humans.
    • This suggests considerable uncertainty regarding human ascorbic acid needs and points to a potential public health issue concerning optimal development, especially in young individuals.

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