Abstract— The concentration of ascorbic acid in whole rat brain during the first week of postnatal life was up to 100 per cent higher than in adult animals. A progressive fall in concentration occurred between 4 and 30 days of age. Corresponding changes did not occur in liver and adrenal gland, two other organs rich in ascorbic acid. Rats subjected to growth retardation during the fetal and suckling periods had, at 25 days of age, levels of ascorbic acid in the cerebellum and brainstem significantly higher than those of control animals. A period of prolonged asphyxia in 5‐day‐old rats resulted in a significant 4 per cent reduction in whole brain ascorbic acid concentration.

. Ascorbic acid in fetal human brain. Ascorbic acid concentrations in fetal human forebrain in the period 11 to 19 weeks' gestational age were 4 to 11 times higher than those of adults. Levels fell progressively with increasing gestational age but, in term babies dying within 4 weeks of birth, were still at least 3 times those of adults. It was confirmed that, in women delivering at term, ascorbic acid concentrations are approximately 4 times higher in cord blood plasma than in maternal blood plasma. The possible importance of ascorbic acid for normal human brain development is discussed.

No abstract