EFFETS DE L'ACIDE ASCORBIQUE SUR PLUSIEURS VARIABLES BIOLOGIQUES NORMALEMENT AFFECTÉES PAR LE FROID

Abstract

It has been shown recently by Dugal and Thérien that during a short or long exposure to cold, the normal hypertrophy of the adrenals is completely prevented by large doses of ascorbic acid, and that, nevertheless, at the same time, resistance is increased towards the same damaging agent. So, the most universally accepted criterion of damage caused by stress is abolished when the animals exposed to cold receive large doses of ascorbic acid. Starting from that observation, it was natural to wonder what would be the effects of the ascorbic acid on the biological changes normally associated with the hypertrophy of the adrenals during exposure to cold. The present paper describes the experimental studies made in that connection; the results obtained show that: (1) ascorbic acid (a) partly inhibits the thymus atrophy normally encountered upon exposure to any stress including cold, (b) accelerates in a very significant way the enlargement of the thyroid, (c) is responsible for an increase in weight of the spleen, whereas the control animals, on the contrary, show a decrease in weight of the same organ; (2) the histamine content of the adrenals, which increases at room temperature under the influence of ascorbic acid, is significantly decreased during exposure to cold under the influence of the same substance; (3) the activity of the adrenals, far from being inhibited by ascorbic acid is even increased if the cholesterol changes are taken as an index of that activity; (4) the initial hypotension—due to cold—found in our controls, is prevented by large doses of ascorbic acid; on the other hand, if hypertension develops after long exposure to cold, the subsequent administration of large doses of ascorbic acid restores the blood pressure to normal. Confirmation has also been obtained for the previously reported observation that ascorbic acid prevents the hypertrophy of the adrenals during exposure to cold.