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Evidence of Citric Acid Synthesis in Human Subjects

One Figure

New York State College of Home Economics, Cornell University, Ithaca

Three normal women were maintained for 45 days on a synthetic diet free from citrates and for 21 days on a controlled natural-food diet of similar nutritive value but supplying approximately 797 mg citric acid per day. Urinary excretions of citrates were followed daily.

Individual variations in daily citrate excretion of 300 to 500 mg were found on both the synthetic and the natural-food diets.

Variations in citrate excretion were found to bear a definite relationship to the phases of the menstrual cycle.

After oral administration of test doses of 400 mg of ascorbic acid, no variations in citrate excretion which could be correlated with decreasing ascorbic acid retention were observed.

Subjects A, B, and C excreted a total of 38, 39, and 34 gm, respectively, of citric acid while on the synthetic diet. Synthesis by the tissues is believed to be the explanation for these relatively large amounts of endogenous citric acid.