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The Bioavailability to Humans of Ascorbic Acid from Oranges, Orange Juice and Cooked Broccoli Is Similar to That of Synthetic Ascorbic Acid^1,2,3,

Ann R. Mangels, Gladys Block^*,4, Carolin M. Frey^*, Blossom H. Patterson^*, Philip R. Taylor^*, Edward P. Norkus and Orville A. Levander⁵

Vitamin and Mineral Nutrition Laboratory, Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD 20705 ^* Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, National Cancer Institute, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD 20892 Biomedical Research Department, Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center, Bronx, NY 10466

The relative bioavailability of ascorbic acid from several sources was compared in 68 male nonsmokers. Subjects underwent two 8-wk ascorbic acid depletion-repletion cycles. In repletion, subjects were randomized to receive 108 mg/d ascorbic acid as tablets with or without iron, as orange segments or juice, or as raw or cooked broccoli with a crossover within each major treatment group (e.g., cooked to raw broccoli) for the second repletion. Relative ascorbic acid bioavailability was estimated based on the slope obtained from linear regression of plasma ascorbic acid on time during each repletion. In the first repletion, slopes for all groups were similar except for the group consuming raw broccoli (20% lower response, P < 0.01). Second repletion responses were attenuated, but were similar to the first repletion. Ascorbic acid ingested as cooked broccoli, orange juice or fruit, or in synthetic form seems to be equally bioavailable. The lower relative bioavailability of ascorbic acid from raw broccoli is unlikely to be of practical importance in mixed diets.

KEY WORDS: • ascorbic acid • vitamin C • bioavailability • fruits • vegetables

¹ A preliminary report of this work was presented at the 76th Annual Meeting of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, April 5–9, 1992, Anaheim, CA [Mangels, A. R., Block, G., Frey, C. M., Morris, V. C., Levander, O. A., Taylor, P. R., Patterson, B. H. & Norkus, E. (1992) Ascorbic acid (AA) relative bioavailability in humans assessed by plasma response to ingestion of AA as fruit, vegetables or in synthetic form. FASEB J. 6: A1376 (abs. 2547)].

² Supported in part by Interagency Agreement Y01-CN-40620.

³ The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 USC section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

⁴ Current address: School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720.

⁵ To whom correspondence and reprint requests should be addressed.

Manuscript received 11 November 1992. Revision accepted 1 February 1993.