title: Influence of vitamin C status on the metabolic rate of a single dose of ethanol-1-(14)C in guinea pigs.
abstract: The rate of oxidative metabolism after a single i.p. dose of ethanol-1-(14)C was studied in male guinea pigs, previously treated with two different levels of vitamin C (traces or 0.5 g/100 g) in their diet for 5 weeks. While the body weight did not differ between these two groups after 5 weeks of the dietary regimen, the vitamin C concentration in the liver was five times higher in the group with the high vitamin C intake. The cumulative amounts of breathing 14CO2 measured at short time intervals during 24 hours after an ethanol-14C injection (23 mg ethanol and 160 kBq per kg body weight or 2.35 g ethanol and 165 kBq per kg body weight in a parallel experiment) were significantly different. The half-time of ethanol turnover reached a value of 5.1 h versus 6.9 h (9.9 vs 14.4 h in a parallel experiment) in the high and low saturated group respectively. The long-term pretreatment of guinea pigs with large doses of vitamin C accelerated ethanol metabolism. Improvement of the redox state and activation of the cytochrome P450 system in vitamin C-supplemented organism are considered to be the reason for the increased ethanol catabolism.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Preventive and Clinical Medicine, Bratislava, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ginter
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zloch
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000032:analysis / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001835:Body Weight; D001944:Breath Tests; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D003577:Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System / Q000378:metabolism; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D000431:Ethanol / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction
chemical_list: D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D000431:Ethanol; D003577:Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System; D001205:Ascorbic Acid