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Effect of Dietary Ascorbic Acid, Cholesterol and PCB on Cholesterol Concentrations in Serum and Liver in a Rat Mutant Unable to Synthesize Ascorbic Acid¹

Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464, Japan ^* Aburahi Laboratories, Shionogi Research Laboratories, Shionogi & Co., Ltd., Gotanda, Koga-gun, Shiga 520-34, Japan

The effect of ascorbic acid deficiency and excessive ascorbic acid intake on serum and liver levels of cholesterol and lipids was investigated in ODS-od/od (OD) rats fed a normal diet, a cholesterol-containing diet or a polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-containing diet. The OD rat is a rat mutant unable to synthesize ascorbic acid. In OD rats, the dietary requirement of ascorbic acid to maintain normal growth and normal levels of cholesterol in serum and liver is about 300 mg of ascorbic acid/kg diet. In control (ODS-+/+) rats that can synthesize ascorbic acid, dietary addition of 0.5% cholesterol and 0.25% cholic acid caused elevation of cholesterol concentrations in serum and liver, elevation of total lipids in liver and reduction of the ratio of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol to total cholesterol in serum. Dietary addition of PCB (200 mg/kg diet) caused elevation of serum concentration of cholesterol and of the ratio of HDL-cholesterol to total cholesterol in serum. In OD rats fed a normal diet, 1) ascorbic acid deficiency slightly elevated serum concentration of cholesterol, elevated liver concentration of cholesterol and reduced the ratio of HDL-cholesterol to total cholesterol in serum; and 2) ascorbic acid excess did not affect serum and liver concentrations of cholesterol and the ratio of HDL-cholesterol to total cholesterol in serum. In OD rats fed a cholesterol-containing diet, 1) ascorbic acid deficiency elevated serum and liver concentrations of cholesterol, and did not affect the ratio of HDL-cholesterol to total cholesterol in serum; and 2) ascorbic acid excess did not affect serum and liver concentrations of cholesterol and the ratio of HDL-cholesterol to total cholesterol in serum. In OD rats fed a PCB-containing diet, ascorbic acid deficiency did not affect serum concentration of cholesterol, but elevated liver concentration of cholesterol and reduced the ratio of HDL-cholesterol to total cholesterol in serum.

KEY WORDS: • ascorbic acid • OD rat • cholesterol • HDL-cholesterol • xenobiotics • polychlorinated biphenyls

¹ Supported in part by the grant of Elizabeth Arnold Fuji Foundation.

² To whom reprint requests should be addressed.

Manuscript received 15 July 1986. Revision accepted 29 January 1987.