Influence of systemic ascorbic acid treatment on metabolite levels after regeneration of the corneal epithelium following mild alkali burns.

Between 6 and 16 days after mild alkali burns of rabbit eyes, the aqueous humor and corneal stroma ascorbic acid levels were decreased in the untreated animals. Systemic treatment with ascorbate 0.5 g/kg body weight injected daily subcutaneously) raised the reduced ascorbic acid levels to twice the normal values in the aqueous humor, but those of the corneal stroma increased only slightly and remained far below the normal levels. The systemic ascorbate treatment did not improve the healing rate of the corneal epithelium, but increased adenosine triphosphate and diphosphate levels as well as the ATP/ADP ratio of the glutathione was shifted to a more reduced state.