Vitamin C lowers stress hormone in rats.Large doses of vitamin C vitamin C or ascorbic acid Water-soluble organic compound important in animal metabolism. Most animals produce it in their bodies, but humans, other primates, and guinea pigs need it in the diet to prevent scurvy. may help alleviate the body's response to stress, according to P. Samuel Campbell of the University of Alabama The University of Alabama (also known as Alabama, UA or colloquially as 'Bama) is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA. Founded in 1831, UA is the flagship campus of the University of Alabama System. in Huntsville. Campbell and his colleagues put laboratory rats under stress by immobilizing im·mo·bi·lize tr.v. im·mo·bi·lized, im·mo·bi·liz·ing, im·mo·bi·liz·es 1. To render immobile. 2. To fix the position of (a joint or fractured limb), as with a splint or cast. 3. them in a wire cylinder for 1 hour each day for 3 weeks. For 15 minutes of that hour, the researchers turned the rats upside down. "It's more of an emotional stressor than a physical stressor," Campbell explains. Stressed rats that had received a daily dose of 200 milligrams of vitamin C showed lower blood concentrations of a hormone called corticosterone corticosterone (kôr'təkōstĕr`ōn), steroid hormone secreted by the outer layer, or cortex, of the adrenal gland. Classed as a glucocorticoid, corticosterone helps regulate the conversion of amino acids into carbohydrates and when compared to rats that didn't get the vitamin. In people, scientists have linked chronic production of a related hormone, called cortisol cortisol (kôr`tĭsôl') or hydrocortisone, steroid hormone that in humans is the major circulating hormone of the cortex, or outer layer, of the adrenal gland. , to heart disease and upper respiratory infections (SN: 5/23/87, p. 325). In the new study, vitamin C also appeared to increase the rats' production of IgG, an antibody that is a measure of immune-system function. The amount of vitamin C given to the rats would correspond to a high dose--several grams per day--in people, says Campbell. In contrast, the current recommended daily allowance is just 60 mg. The study's results, Campbell says, provide additional information for U.S. policy makers who are trying to revise nutritional guidelines to reflect vitamin doses needed for optimum health (SN: 4/19/97, p. 237). |
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