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Dietary ascorbic acid lowers the concentration of soluble copper in the small intestinal lumen of rats

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

G. J. Van Den Berg ,
S. YU ,
A. G. Lemmens  and
A. C. Beynen
G. J. Van Den Berg
Affiliation:
Interfaculty Reactor Institute, University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
S. YU
Affiliation:
Department of Human Nutrition, Agricultural University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
A. G. Lemmens
Affiliation:
Department of Laboratory Animal Science, State University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
A. C. Beynen
Affiliation:
Department of Human Nutrition, Agricultural University, Wageningen, The Netherlands Department of Laboratory Animal Science, State University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
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Abstract

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We tested the hypothesis that ascorbic acid in the diet of rats lowers the concentration of soluble Cu in the small intestine, causing a decrease in apparent Cu absorption. Male rats were fed on diets adequate in Cu (5 mg Cu/kg) without or with 10 g ascorbic acid/kg. The diet with ascorbic acid was fed for either 6 or 42 d. Ascorbic acid depressed tissue Cu concentrations after a feeding period of 42, but not after 6 d. Dietary ascorbic acid lowered apparent Cu absorption after 6, but not after 42 d. The lowering of tissue Cu concentrations after long-term ascorbic acid feeding may have increased the efficiency of Cu absorption, and thus counteracted the inhibitory effect of ascorbic acid. Dietary ascorbic acid caused a significant decrease in the Cu concentrations in the liquid phase of both the proximal and distal parts of the small intestinal lumen. This effect was due to both a decrease in the amount of Cu in the liquid digesta and an increase in the volume of the liquid phase; only the latter effect for the distal intestine was statistically significant. We conclude that ascorbic acid supplementation lowers Cu absorption by decreasing the concentration of soluble Cu in the small intestine.

Keywords

Ascorbic acidCopperRat
Type
Interaction between ascorbic acid and copper
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 71 , Issue 5 , May 1994 , pp. 701 - 707
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 1994

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