Effect of ascorbic acid in a diet high in sucrose on the mandible of the young rat

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect(s) of a high sucrose (marginal in protein) diet, supplemented with ascorbic acid on the growth and development of tissues. The primar tissues examined were the mandible, femurs, and the oral mucosa; the biochemical parameters included DNA, total protein, and protein-bound hexoses and fucose. The animals used for this study were 21 day old male rats, who were then maintained on their diets for a period of fourteen days. The analyses of the above tissues revealed that the ascorbic acid supplementation of the high sucrose diet resulted in an increase in total protein in bone (femur) and mandible. Such supplementation, also resulted in a significant increase in total bound hexoses in the oral mucosa. Apparently, ascorbic acid seems to favor an increase in glycosylation (hexoses) of total proteins, and can be viewed as a clinically beneficial phenomenon; ascorbic acid had no apparent effect on fucose addition. This study also showed quantitative increases in total protein concentrations in cells of oral tissues supplemented with ascorbic acid during growth. Further work is needed to determine the actual qualitative changes occurring in the proteins of oral tissues and the precise role of ascorbic acid.