Influence of Zymosan A on the Content of Ascorbic Acid in Mice

The aim of the study was to determine the effects of single intraperitoneal injections of zymosan A on changes in the content of ascorbic acid (ASC) in the brain, liver, spleen and kidneys of mature male mice, line Swiss. The experiments were carried out on 54 mice divided into 3 control groups and 6 experimental groups. Samples for analysis were collected after 3 h (experimental group I), 6 h (experimental group II) and 24 h (experimental group HI) after the injection of zymosan A at the dose of 1 mg/kg body weight (b.w.). For groups IV, V and VI, the organs were removed at the same time as the previous groups, but the animals were administered zymosan A at the dose of 100 mg/kg b.w. The content of ASC was then determined. The results showed that zymosan A significantly reduced the content of ASC in the brain of the mice in all the experimental groups, in the spleen in all the experimental groups except for group I (after 3 h since injection of zymosan A at 1 mg/kg b.w.), in the liver only in experimental groups IV, V and VI (after the injection of zymosan A at 100 mg/kg b.w.), while in the kidneys the effects were observed for groups III, V and VI. The data suggest that the observed decrease in the content of ASC is caused by the oxidative activity of zymosan A.