Ac a ai dmìn. ewynol, (Milano), L974,28, 101
S ødåes Assocìø ed, uí h Asco båc Acì'd'
K, M. CLEGG
In es iga ions cauied ou in he Food
Science Dépa men in connec ion wi h ssco '
bic acid ha e ollowed wo dis inc and un-
ela ed pa hways:
1) The e ec o 1 g daily closes o L-a'
sco bic acid in educing he incidence o he
common cold ín 0 g oup o olun ee s was
compa ecl wi h a con ol g oup ecei ing o
ph.ãbo, The su ey las ed 16 eeks du ing
ihe win . mon l s oÍ L97L/ 972. The esul s
(1) showecl ha he 47 olun ee s ecei ing
L-asco bÍc ncicl su e ed a o al o , 44 colds,
whe eas he 43 people aking dummy pills
hacl 80 colds. Tha is, I g L'asco bic acicl/day
educecl he íncidence o cold symp oms
by 49V0,
Pauling (2 ) has calcula ecl nn app oxima e
couela ion be ween he dose le el o L'a-
sco bic ncid he educ ion in he incidence
o colds; o one g am pe day he pos ula ed
a 4570 leduc ion wbicl Ís in ag eemen wi h
ou indings.
The lezul s o he su ey ha e been e-
nnalyzecl ncco ding o he sex o he olun-
eels anc{ l e sum na ized in he able.
Cold¡
I¡nsco¡'blc ncld
(47 Pcno u)
Fcmnlcs
1zÐ
Mnlcs
(24)
Plnccbo
(41 pc ¡on¡)
M¡lcs
( ) Fcmnlc¡
1u)
0
I
2
,
4
Cold/pc son
I2
0
2
0
0
1
0.58
4
I
9
I
0
L,)
4
I
I
,
3
1,8
2
2
2
2
5
2,0
I)cnn men! o Foocl Sclencc 6¿ Nu i ion
lnì c sl y o S ¡n hclycle, Glnsgol, Íìco ln l.
1.01
I is app ecia ed ha he numbe s a e oo
small o maL. a de ini e claim, bu he e is
an indica ion ha adul males ob ain mo e
bene i han adul emales in aking L'asco -
bic acid o educe he íncidence o he com'
non cold.
I is planned o ePea he in es iga ion
in Glasiow du ing he win e mon hs o
gn i| wi h a double-blind design ld
la ge nu nbe s in he g oups. Howe e , in
ca iying ou his ypJ o su ey' weekly
.oni .i.ui h a managèable numbe o olun'
ee s in conside ed o yie d mo e eliable
esul s han la ge g oups wi h li le, o no,
supe ision du ing he pe iod o he suwey'
2 ) L-asco bic acid is used as an addi i e
by ih" ood indus y o inc ease- he nu i'
i,cnal alue o a p oduc and o o i s an i-
oxidan p ope ie;. Howe e , i has es abli'
shed hai inìcidic condi ions wi h ee amino
g oups p esen , as occu s in ci us iuices,
L-^ .o bi. acid oxidizes o ca bonyl com-
pounds hich subsequen ly polyme ise and
ieud o non-enzymic b owning (3 ). Claims
ha e been made ha he chemically syn he
sizecl isome , D-isoasco bic acid (a pe mi ed
addi i e in some coun ies), oxidized p e e-
en íally and p o ec s any L-asco bic acid
p esen (4).
' In es igo ions wi h model sys ems a pH
4.0 ha e iho* ha he a e o b eakdown
o bo h íso ne s is simila when hey occu
in a mix u e and ha D'isoasco bic acid has
no addi ional an ioxidan p ope ies o he
p o ec ion o L-ascolbic acid (5). Howe e '
il,. b ealçdo n p oduc s a ising o n he
oxida ion o L-asco bic acid esul ed in he
cle elopmen o mo e b owning han i h
D-isoasco bic acid subjec ed o iden ical
condi ions.
Analysis o he ca bonyls in d e model
sys ems showed ha L'asco bic acid yielded
a ,malle numbe han D'isoasco bic acid du-
ine he ea ly s ages o incuba ion' This
obJe a ion could be explained by he in'
s an polyme isa ion o he 2,3-dike og¡ lonic
acid å iiina ing om L'asco bic acid (6)
yielding inc eased b owning and. ewe in e -
media ã compounds, whe eas he polyme í'
sa ion o he 2,}-dike ogulonic acid de i ed
om D-isoasco bic acid was slowe and
u he oxida ion o smalle molecula ca -
bonyls was able o alce P ace'- -
Al ho, gh L-asco bic acid and D"isoasco bic
acid exhiËi some a iance in hei chemical
p ope ies, bo h isome s a e a ec ecl by he
p . .n.. o coppe in a simila way esul íng
in u.cel" a ed Ë cakdown and ela i ely in-
c eased b owning (7).
R ÁssuN o
S adí sull'acido dsco bìco.
In un g uppo di olon a¡i sono s a i s udia i gli
e . i J.ñu ió*minis azione di I g ammo di acldo
asco bico sul a eddo e comune. Si è cons a a o
c e 'in.i¿enza del a eddo e è ne men e mino e
nei sogge i che inge i ano ques a- i amina in con'
on o-ãi quelli a a i con placebo.
La ice câ sa à ipe uh nell'in e no 197J'74 con
un disegno spe imen ole ln doppio cieco e soP a
un maggio nume o dl sogge i.
REFEßENCES
(1) Cu¡ .ss o¡¡ S.S. ond C .ncc K,M. ' Lance
ßIi, lqa . - (2') Pnu xc L. - ( Vi amin C and
he Common Cold >, Ban am Boolcs, U,S.A., 1971,
p. 8Z. - (3) C¿scc .U. ' I.S!¡ Food Ag ic',-L964,
ii,-az¡, - +l EsssLBN ü[.8., Po uns JJ.-uI9
Wôoo*o*o R. - /. Ind, Ens, Cl en., !945, ,7-' 295'
- :l Bou os Ñ.N. - M, Sc. Thesis, Foocl Science
p.p. n"n , Uni csi y o S a hclyde, Glnsgow,
- n - (6) Dw ¡n -S.I. and Fn¡¡on¡" ¡¡x T'E' -
ioii¿ n .., ig56,2L, 519, - (7) FsnousoN s'M' -
g. S.. Thåsis, Fóod'science Depa men , Uni e qi y
o S n hclyde, Glasgow, 1973,
il,
1.02
s
