Abstract
Previous studies by Harde, 1 and Harde and Philippe, 2 Harde and Benjamin, 3 Harde and Greenwald, 4 have shown a lowering of vitamin C content of the tissues of laboratory animals in many infections and intoxications. King 5 and his associates noted a similar fact in studies of human autopsies, and later in work on guinea pigs. 6
These observations suggested to us that vitamin C in infectious diseases unrelated to scurvy, such as pneumonia, may be lowered. The examinations of urines for vitamin C from pneumonia and other pathological conditions permitted verification of this hypothesis.
A reducing substance in the urine of normal individuals, probably in large part cevitamic acid, has been studied by Hess and Benjamin 7 and by Birch, Harris and Ray. 8 The latter authors found a relation between vitamin C content of the diet and the urinary excretion of the reducing substance.
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