Loss of Ascorbic Acid from Injured Feline Spinal Cord

Feline spinal cord contains 0.97 mM ascorbic acid, as measured by the dinitrophenylhydrazine method. Greater than 90% is maintained in the reduced form. When functioning normally, the CNS conserves its ascorbic acid with a turnover rate of 2% per h. Following contusion injury severe enough to produce paraplegia, ascorbic acid is rapidly lost from injured spinal tissue. Thus, ascorbic acid is decreased 30% by 1 h and 50% by 3 h following injury. Oxidized ascorbic acid is increased at 1, but not 3, h following impact. As a consequence of its many functions in CNS, loss of ascorbic acid may contribute to derangements in spinal cord function following injury.