Summary . Guinea‐pigs kept on a diet deficient in ascorbic acid lost weight and became moribund in about 24 days. . The adrenal ascorbic acid concentration fell rapidly during the first 2 weeks, and the plasma corticosteroid concentration and 17‐oxogenic steroid excretion rose sharply in the third week of ascorbic acid deficiency. . Both histamine and corticotrophin increased the plasma corticosteroid concentration when injected during the second week but failed to change the pre‐existing high concentration of the steroid in the third week of ascorbic acid deficiency. . The observations confirm that ascorbic acid is not involved in corticoidogenesis and that scurvy is a severe stress which increases adrenocortical activity to such an extent that the rate of synthesis of corticosteroids is incapable of matching the rate of their release.

Summary Adrenocortical hyperactivity caused by a marked increase in circulating corticotrophin occurred in guinea‐pigs on a diet deficient in ascorbic acid. Betamethasone prevented the rise in the blood ACTH concentration in scorbutic animals and also the increased steroid production per gramme adrenal tissue in vitro. It diminished the adrenal hypertrophy and partially suppressed the rise in plasma Cortisol. Ninety minutes after the injection of ascorbic acid corticotrophin could no longer be detected in the plasma of scorbutic animals. Neither the survival time nor the weight loss was affected by betamethasone treatment.