Comparative Bioavailability of Synthetic and Natural Vitamin C in Guinea Pigs

This study was undertaken to compare the bioavailabilities of synthetic ascorbic acid and a natural vitamin C which contains bioflavonoids. Adult male guinea pigs were orally dosed with 50 mg of ascorbate and the serum levels measured using a fluorometric method. The two forms of ascorbic acid gave similar peak concentrations of serum ascorbate but the natural vitamin C peaked later and remained in the serum for a longer time period. The bioavailability of the natural vitamin C was significantly greater (148%, p < 0.001) than that of the synthetic ascorbic acid