Impairment of ascorbic acid synthesis in liver extracts of magnesium-deficient rats

The effect of feeding a magnesium (Mg)-deficient diet for 9-34 days to weanling and young male rats on urinary and tissue ascorbate levels were studied. The concentrations of ascorbic acid in the liver and kidney were significantly reduced in the rats receiving a Mg-deficient diet as compared to those receiving a Mg-supplemented diet. The response to trichloro-2-methyl-2-propanol stimulation of urinary ascorbic acid was found to be considerably suppressed by dietary deficiency of Mg, suggesting that the decrease was not due to feed intake. In in vitro studies, the enzymatic synthesis of the vitamin from glucuronolactone or gulonolactone by liver extracts from Mg-deficient rats was significantly decreased as compared with Mg-supplemented rats. These results suggest that Mg-deficient rats have a reduced capacity to synthesize ascorbate which in turn produces a decrease in ascorbic acid concentrations in the liver.