Effect of dietary vitamin C on compression injury of the spinal cord in a rat mutant unable to synthesize ascorbic acid and its correlation with that of vitamin E.
The roles of vitamin C on secondary pathological changes after spinal cord injury were investigated by evaluating the effects of dietary vitamin C on experimental spinal cord injury in a mutant strain of Wistar rats unable to synthesize ascorbic acid (ODS rats). Two groups of ODS rats were given vitamin C-deficient or vitamin C-supplemented diet for 1 week before injury. Motor disturbance induced by spinal cord injury was found to be greater in the vitamin C-deficient group. Histologically, the area of bleeding in the spinal cord was also greater in the vitamin C-deficient group. The levels of ascorbic acid and alpha-tocopherol in the spinal cord tissue and serum decreased during and after compression injury of the spinal cord. The decrease of alpha-tocopherol was similar in the two groups. However, the decrease of ascorbic acid was greater in the vitamin C-supplemented group. These results indicated that their protective effects against spinal cord injury are through scavenging water-soluble free radicals by vitamin C and lipid-soluble by vitamin E, and the effects of these vitamins were suggested to be independent.
Katoh
D
D
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, School of Medicine, Tokushima, Japan.
Ikata
T
T
Katoh
S
S
Hamada
Y
Y
Fukuzawa
K
K
D000818:Animals; D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001206:Ascorbic Acid Deficiency / Q000378:metabolism; D004032:Diet; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers / Q000494:pharmacology; D006614:Hindlimb / Q000502:physiology; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology; D009154:Mutation; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000378:metabolism; D013117:Spinal Cord Compression / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D017392:Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances / Q000378:metabolism; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*
D016166:Free Radical Scavengers; D017392:Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances; D014810:Vitamin E; D001205:Ascorbic Acid