Ascorbic acid deficiency and pituitary adrenocortical activity in the guinea‐pig

Abstract

1 . Guinea-pigs kept on a diet deficient in ascorbic acid lost weight and became moribund in about 24 days. 2 . The adrenal ascorbic acid concentration fell rapidly during the first 2 weeks, and the plasma corticosteroid concentration and 17-oxogenic steroid excretion rose sharply in the third week of ascorbic acid deficiency. 3 . Both histamine and corticotrophin increased the plasma corticosteroid concentration when injected during the second week but failed to change the pre-existing high concentration of the steroid in the third week of ascorbic acid deficiency. 4 . The observations confirm that ascorbic acid is not involved in corticoidogenesis and that scurvy is a severe stress which increases adrenocortical activity to such an extent that the rate of synthesis of corticosteroids is incapable of matching the rate of their release.