Hypocholesterolemic effect of ascorbic acid in maturity-onset diabetes mellitus.

A significantly lower vitamin C concentration has been found in the blood and particularly in the leukocytes of hypercholesterolemic diabetic patients than of healthy blood donors. Ascorbic acid administered in a dose of 500 mg per day for 12 months to metabolically stabilized hypercholesterolemic subjects with maturity-onset diabetes mellitus (diabetic diet without insulin or diabetic drugs) brought about a striking decline of cholesterolemia and a moderate decline of triglyceridemia. The serum lipid level in the control group given placebo remained unaltered.

Effect of ascorbic acid on plasma cholesterol in humans in a long-term experiment.

During the period of a low vitamin C intake (approximately equal to 20 mg per day) ascorbic acid in a dose of 2 x 500 mg per day was administered to 82 men and women aged 50-75 years. A correlation of plasma cholesterol levels determined before and after a three months' administration of ascorbic acid showed the effect of vitamin C to be dependent on the starting concentration of plasma cholesterol: the higher the initial cholesterolemia, the greater the hypocholesterolemic effect of ascorbic acid. On restricting the experimental group to subjects with an initial cholesterolemia above 230 mg%, the effect of the same dose of ascorbic acid on cholesterolemia was followed in three-month periods for a further 9 months.