The concentrations of ascorbic acid in several tissues of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) are significantly influenced by various dietary treatments. Ascorbic acid was taken up readily by erythrocytes, kidney, liver, intestine, spleen, and brain in fish fed an ascorbate supplemented diet (AA group), the concentration being from 1.5 to 14.8-fold higher than in fish fed a diet lacking ascorbate (control group). In fish fed a diet supplemented with an equimolar amount of ascorbic acid in the form of ascorbic sulfate (AS group) the ascorbic acid concentrations in kidney, intestine, and erythrocytes were significantly elevated above those of the control group. Ascorbic sulfate was found in kidney, liver, and intestine of the AS group, but not in other groups. In fish fed a diet devoid of vitamin C the ascorbic acid concentrations in kidney, liver, intestine, and spleen were signficantly lower than in fasting fish over the same period of time (28 d), suggesting a high demand for vitamin C in an actively feeding animal. Salmonid fish are therefore probably unable to utilize ascorbic sulfate sufficiently to prevent the appearance of vitamin C deficiency, and thus resemble scurvy-prone mammals in this respect.
L-ascorbyl 2-sulfate as a dietary vitamin C source for rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss.