Vitamin C disposition in young and elderly men.

The pharmacokinetics of vitamin C after a 500-mg oral tablet dose were compared in 15 healthy young men aged 25.20 +/- 2.54 (means +/- SD) and in 15 healthy elderly men aged 69.31 +/- 2.52 y. The doses were characterized with the subjects in two states of vitamin C nutriture: a depleted state, which was achieved by 4-5 wk of compliance with a vitamin C-restricted diet of less than 10 mg/d and a supplemented state, in which the subjects were given 500 mg vitamin C/d for 3 wk. Plasma and urine samples were collected for 72 h after the dose of vitamin C from depleted subjects and for 24 h from supplemented subjects and analyzed for vitamin C. Several of the pharmacokinetic indices measured were different in depleted vs supplemented subjects but none exhibited any age-related differences. This indicates that vitamin C nutriture affects vitamin C pharmacokinetics but age does not.