THE EFFECT OF VITAMIN-C IN HIGH-DOSES ON PLASMA AND BILIARY LIPID-COMPOSITION IN PATIENTS WITH CHOLESTEROL GALLSTONES - PROLONGATION OF THENUCLEATION TIME

Vitamin C deficiency in guinea pigs leads to cholesterol supersaturati on of bile and formation of cholesterol gallstones. It has been sugges ted that there may also exist an association between vitamin C and cho lesterol gallstones in man, but such a relationship has not been studi ed in gallstone patients. In order to study the possible effects of vi tamin C on gallstone disease in humans, plasma lipid levels, hepatic c holesterol metabolism, biliary Lipid composition, cholesterol saturati on and nucleation time of gallbladder bile were analysed in 16 consecu tive gallstone patients, who were planned for laparoscopic cholecystec tomy and were treated with vitamin C (500 mg, four times a day) for 2 weeks before surgery. The plasma concentration of vitamin C increased by 42% in the treatment group. The concentrations of plasma Lipids did not differ before and after vitamin C treatment; nor did the plasma l evels of lathosterol and 7 alpha-hydroxy-4-cholesten-3-one, reflecting cholesterol and bile acid synthesis respectively. The relative concen trations of cholesterol, bile acids and cholesterol concentration of b ile did not differ significantly between the two groups, but the relat ive concentration of phospholipids was slightly higher in the treated group. The bile acid composition was changed; the percentage of cholic acid being lower and those of deoxycholic acid, ursodeoxycholic acid and lithocholic acid higher in the Vitamin C-treated patients compared with the untreated group. The nucleation time was significantly longe r in the treatment group (7 days) compared with the untreated group (2 days). Our findings indicate that vitamin C supplementation may also influence the conditions for cholesterol gallstone formation in humans .