Young male guinea-pigs receiving a maintenance dose of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) (0.1 mg/100 g body weight daily) received a daily supplement of a flavonoid-rich extract of orange peel (5 mg/100 g body weight). The extract significantly increased the ascorbic acid concentration on the adrenals, spleen and leucocytes but not in the liver and brain. Hesperidin had a similar effect. The possible mechanisms of these changes are discussed. The orange extract and the hesperidin both produced a marked increase in the body weight of the guinea-pigs; this effect was absent in ascorbic acid sufficient guinea-pigs. The extract did not influence the survival time of the scorbutic guinea-pigs. These indications of a partial vitamin C activity on the part of the flavonoids suggest that ascorbic acid is a multifunctional vitamin with its growth-promoting function separate from (and presumably subordinate to) the prevention of scurvy.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.