Synthesis and some major functions of vitamin C in animals.
01 Sep 1975-Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (Blackwell Publishing Ltd)-Vol. 258, Iss: 1, pp 24-47
TL;DR: Using the in vitro method, the ascorbic acid synthesizing abilities of different species of animals in the phylogenetic tree are examined, and the results are given below.
Abstract: The requirement of ascorbic acid (vitamin C ) is a common property of living organisms, and it has long been considered that all animals except the guinea pig, monkey, and man can synthesize this vitamin. The classic method for determining the ability of an animal to synthesize ascorbic acid is to feed it a scorbutogenic diet for a prolonged period and to observe the appearance of the scurvy syndrome. Obviously, the method is laborious and time-consuming. Also, the onset of the scorbutic syndrome depends on the ascorbic-acid-retention capacity of the animal. For example, whereas the guinea pigs can be made scorbutic in about 3 weeks, it takes 3 to 4 months to produce scurvy in man. Since the discovery of the technique for studying ascorbic acid synthesir in vitro,1-8 the task has become much simpler. In this technique, the tissue homogenates or the subcellular fractions are incubated with precursors of ascorbic acid and the amount of the vitamin formed is estimated. Using the in vitro method, we have examined the ascorbic acid synthesizing abilities of different species of animals in the phylogenetic tree, and the results are given below.
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Abstract: I read this book the same weekend that the Packers took on the Rams, and the experience of the latter event, obviously, colored my judgment. Although I abhor anything that smacks of being a handbook (like, \"How to Earn a Merit Badge in Neurosurgery\") because too many volumes in biomedical science already evince a boyscout-like approach, I must confess that parts of this volume are fast, scholarly, and significant, with certain reservations. I like parts of this well-illustrated book because Dr. Sj6strand, without so stating, develops certain subjects on technique in relation to the acquisition of judgment and sophistication. And this is important! So, given that the author (like all of us) is somewhat deficient in some areas, and biased in others, the book is still valuable if the uninitiated reader swallows it in a general fashion, realizing full well that what will be required from the reader is a modulation to fit his vision, propreception, adaptation and response, and the kind of problem he is undertaking. A major deficiency of this book is revealed by comparison of its use of physics and of chemistry to provide understanding and background for the application of high resolution electron microscopy to problems in biology. Since the volume is keyed to high resolution electron microscopy, which is a sophisticated form of structural analysis, but really morphology in a modern guise, the physical and mechanical background of The instrument and its ancillary tools are simply and well presented. The potential use of chemical or cytochemical information as it relates to biological fine structure , however, is quite deficient. I wonder when even sophisticated morphol-ogists will consider fixation a reaction and not a technique; only then will the fundamentals become self-evident and predictable and this sine qua flon will become less mystical. Staining reactions (the most inadequate chapter) ought to be something more than a technique to selectively enhance contrast of morphological elements; it ought to give the structural addresses of some of the chemical residents of cell components. Is it pertinent that auto-radiography gets singled out for more complete coverage than other significant aspects of cytochemistry by a high resolution microscopist, when it has a built-in minimal error of 1,000 A in standard practice? I don't mean to blind-side (in strict football terminology) Dr. Sj6strand's efforts for what is \"routinely used in our laboratory\"; what is done is usually well done. It's just that …
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Cites background from "Synthesis and some major functions ..."
..., rat and mouse) produce it endogenously in the liver (Chatterjee et al., 1975)....
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TL;DR: Despite the high, homeostatically regulated levels of brain ascorbate, its specific functions in the CNS are only beginning to be elucidated, and ongoing studies of ascorBate and glutamate transporters should lead to rapid progress in understanding asCorbate regulation and function.
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TL;DR: Ascorbate is proposed as a neuromodulator of glutamatergic, dopaminergic, cholinergic, and GABAergic transmission and related behaviors, posited to have potential therapeutic roles against ischemic stroke, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Huntington's disease.
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...In addition to its well-known role as an antioxidant, the vitamin serves as a cofactor in several important enzyme reactions, including those involved in the synthesis of catecholamines, carnitine, cholesterol, amino acids, and certain peptide hormones [1]....
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TL;DR: It is shown that many factors involved in host resistance to neoplasia are significantly dependent upon the availability of ascorbate and the relationship between these factors and asCorbic acid metabolism is presented in detail.
Abstract: Host resistance to neoplastic growth and invasiveness is recognized to be an important factor in determining the occurrence, the progress, and the eventual outcome of every cancer illness. The factors involved in host resistance are briefly reviewed, and the relationship between these factors and ascorbic acid metabolism is presented in detail. It is shown that many factors involved in host resistance to neoplasia are significantly dependent upon the availability of ascorbate.
412 citations
Cites background from "Synthesis and some major functions ..."
...has been the subject of many investigations, theories, and exhaustive reviews (50, 66, 140, 181, 195, 213, 251 , 254, 313, 350)....
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References
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Journal Article•
TL;DR: This volume is keyed to high resolution electron microscopy, which is a sophisticated form of structural analysis, but really morphology in a modern guise, the physical and mechanical background of the instrument and its ancillary tools are simply and well presented.
Abstract: I read this book the same weekend that the Packers took on the Rams, and the experience of the latter event, obviously, colored my judgment. Although I abhor anything that smacks of being a handbook (like, \"How to Earn a Merit Badge in Neurosurgery\") because too many volumes in biomedical science already evince a boyscout-like approach, I must confess that parts of this volume are fast, scholarly, and significant, with certain reservations. I like parts of this well-illustrated book because Dr. Sj6strand, without so stating, develops certain subjects on technique in relation to the acquisition of judgment and sophistication. And this is important! So, given that the author (like all of us) is somewhat deficient in some areas, and biased in others, the book is still valuable if the uninitiated reader swallows it in a general fashion, realizing full well that what will be required from the reader is a modulation to fit his vision, propreception, adaptation and response, and the kind of problem he is undertaking. A major deficiency of this book is revealed by comparison of its use of physics and of chemistry to provide understanding and background for the application of high resolution electron microscopy to problems in biology. Since the volume is keyed to high resolution electron microscopy, which is a sophisticated form of structural analysis, but really morphology in a modern guise, the physical and mechanical background of The instrument and its ancillary tools are simply and well presented. The potential use of chemical or cytochemical information as it relates to biological fine structure , however, is quite deficient. I wonder when even sophisticated morphol-ogists will consider fixation a reaction and not a technique; only then will the fundamentals become self-evident and predictable and this sine qua flon will become less mystical. Staining reactions (the most inadequate chapter) ought to be something more than a technique to selectively enhance contrast of morphological elements; it ought to give the structural addresses of some of the chemical residents of cell components. Is it pertinent that auto-radiography gets singled out for more complete coverage than other significant aspects of cytochemistry by a high resolution microscopist, when it has a built-in minimal error of 1,000 A in standard practice? I don't mean to blind-side (in strict football terminology) Dr. Sj6strand's efforts for what is \"routinely used in our laboratory\"; what is done is usually well done. It's just that …
3,197 citations
TL;DR: NonDarwinian evolution of protein and DNA, comparing expectations of evolution models for protein and amino acid changes is compared.
Abstract: NonDarwinian evolution of protein and DNA, comparing expectations of evolution models for protein and amino acid changes
1,480 citations
TL;DR: The ability to synthesize ascorbic acid is absent in the insects, invertebrates, and fishes and a similar transition in the biosynthetic ability was observed in the branched evolution of the birds.
Abstract: The ability to synthesize ascorbic acid is absent in the insects, invertebrates, and fishes. The biosynthetic capacity started in the kidney of amphibians, resided in the kidney of reptiles, became transferred to the liver of mammals, and finally disappeared from the guinea pig, the flying mammals, monkey, and man. A similar transition in the biosynthetic ability was observed in the branched evolution of the birds.
391 citations
244 citations
TL;DR: Of considerable interest is the potent stimulatory effect on ascorbic acid synthesis exerted by the carcinogenic hydrocarbons 3-methylcholanthrene, l J 2 ,5,6-dibenzanthracene, and 3,4benzpyrene.
Abstract: Drug-induced ascorbic acid synthesis. Various drugs possessing completely unrelated chemical and pharmacological properties have been shown to stimulate markedly the urinary excretion of L-ascorbic acid in rats.'-* They include the hypnotics: Chloretone and barbital; the analgesics: aminopynne and antipyrine; the muscle relaxants: orphenadrine and meprobamate; the antirheumatics: phenylbutazone and oxyphenbutazone; the uricosuric agent, sulfinpyrazone; the antihistaminics: diphenhydramine and chlorcyclizine; and the carcinogenic hydrocarbons: 3-methylcholanthrene and 3,4benzpyrene. Of considerable interest is the potent stimulatory effect on ascorbic acid synthesis exerted by the carcinogenic hydrocarbons 3-methylcholanthrene, l J 2 ,5,6-dibenzanthracene, and 3,4benzpyrene. The striking effect of a single 10-mg. intraperitoneal injection of 3-methylcholanthrene is shown in FIGURE 1. For comparison, the effect of a 40-mg. dose of Chloretone is also given. By 6 days after 3-methylcholanthrene administration, the urinary excretion of ascorbic acid was about 70 times greater than the control value and, in fact, during the 19-day period about 140 mg. of the vitamin was recovered in the urine. It will be noted that Chloretone within the first day exerts an effect on ascorbic acid excretion that reaches a peak by the third day and falls to a low value by the fifth day. In contrast, 3-methylcholanthrene exerts no effect for 2 days, but then urinary ascorbic acid excretion increases rapidly and remains elevated for over 18 days. In another experiment rats were injected intraperitoneally with 10 mg. of the hydrocarbon daily for 3 to 5 days, and the urinary excretion was measured a t various intervals thereafter. The urinary excretion of ascorbic acid increased from control values of about 0.3 mg. per day to values of 17 mg. per day by 6 days after the dose. Even by 50 days after administration of the hydrocarbon, the levels of ascorbic acid in urine were still markedly elevated over the control levels. No definite information is available a t the present time on the prolonged effect of 3-methylcholanthrene on ascorbic acid synthesis. The possibility that the hydrocarbon remains in the animal by localization in fat depots is now under investigation. Turnover rate of ascorbic acid. In order to show further the marked effect
164 citations