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THE DIURETIC EFFECT OF ASCORBIC ACID

1944; American Medical Association; Volume: 124; Issue: 11 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1001/jama.1944.02850110024006

2376-8118

Carl F. Shaffer,

Vitamin C and Antioxidants Research

The first reference in the English literature to the diuretic action of ascorbic acid was made in a study of normal persons without edema. 1 This had previously been described by German authors in the experimental animal and explained as a "polyphasic effect of ascorbic acid on the colloid osmotic pressure of the blood." 2 These observations have been applied to persons with edema from various causes; the present report concerns patients in cardiac decompensation. The nutritional status of a person in respect to vitamin C can be estimated by his response to a test dose of ascorbic acid. The size of the dose varies with the route of administration, and the response, or amount of renal excretion, varies with the tissue vitamin content. If this substance is given by mouth there is almost complete absorption and the maximum rate of excretion normally occurs in three to six hours; if