Vitamin C and Anaphylactic Shock in Dogs

Abstract

Contradictory reports upon the effect of Vitamin C on the anaphylactic reaction of guinea pigs have appeared. Hochwald, 1 Lemke, 2 and Solomonica 3 have reported protective effects, while Schwartz and Cisloghi 4 and Van Niekerk 5 have reported negative effects. Giroud and Giroud 6 have reported protective effects in rabbits. To our knowledge no study of the effect of administered Vitamin C on the anaphylactic reaction in the dog has been reported.

Eighteen dogs were sensitized to horse-serum. After incubationary periods of 15 to 20 days they were anesthetized and the blood-pressure reactions recorded to provide an objective record of the degree of shock produced by the intravenous injection of horse-serum. Four dogs were given 250 mg of cevitamic acid∗ daily by mouth throughout the incubationary period, 5 dogs were given intravenous injections of 200 mg prior to the sensitization, a daily oral dose of 500 mg during the incubationary period and a final intravenous injection of 500 mg before the provocative injection of horse-serum, and 9 dogs were given intravenous injections of 100 mg per kilo during the last 45 minutes before the provocative injection of horse-serum. Sixteen animals showed anaphylactic reactions, of which 4 were rapidly fatal and 9 were quite severe. The distribution of the various grades of severity of shock were similar with that in a large number of controls. 7 Through the courtesy of Professor C. J. Farmer, the concentration of Vitamin C in the blood was determined in some of the animals.

We are thus, enabled to say that the blood concentration was elevated from normal levels of approximately 01.20 mg % to around 0.6 mg,% in the first group, that in the second group the blood concentration was moderately high at the time of sensitization (2.0 to 4.0 mg %), was maintained at fairly high levels during the incubationary period (around 1.0 mg %) and was considerably elevated (11.0 to 20.0 mg %) at the time of the provocative injection of horse-serum, and that in the third group the Mood concentration was above 20 mg % at the time of the provocative injection of horse-serum.