Study 2
Study 2 Name of Study: Action Des Oligomeres Procyanidoliques Sur Le Cobaye Carence En Vitamine C (Effect Of Procyanidolic Oligomers On The Guinea Pig Deprived Of Vitamin C.)
Conducted by: J. Laparra, J. Michaud and J. Masquelier
Published in: Travaux originaux, UniversitŽ de Bordeaux, France Publication date:1976
Where study conducted: Laboratoire de Matiere Meicale. Faculty of Pharmacy of Bordeaux, France
Material used for study: Masquelier's OPC extract from Vitis Vinifera (grape seeds)
In-vitro study: Yes
Human subjects: Yes
Animal subjects: 45 guinea pigs
Dosages used: 20mg/kg body weight
Summary/Abstract: Effect of procyanidolic oligomers on the guinea pig deprived of vitamin C. The effect of vitamin C Manifests itself in two ways: on the one hand in ponderal growth and on the other hand in survival time.
1. Effect on ponderal growth. The weights of the animals of the reference lot (1) regularly increase, passing from 350 g to 691 g in 16 weeks, which is an increase of 100%. The animals in lot (2) , submitted to a totally deficient regimen, rapidly show a ponderal deficit in relation with the animals of reference. This difference, which is already 10% in the 3rd week, then rapidly increases, reaching 35% in the 4th and 5th week. The animals have then attained a weight which is inferior to the one they had at the beginning of the experiment and they rapidly die.
The lots (3) and (4) which are supplemented with vitamin C in the daily dosages of 5 and 10mg/kg show an observably normal ponderal growth, lot (3) until the 8th week; lot (4) until the 11th week. Then the ponderal growth halts and the animals rapidly lose weight and die.
The animals of lot (5), which receive vitamin C and OPC have weights that grow until the 16th week. In the 10th week the weight of these animals is superior (33%) to the animals of lot (3), which received the same daily dosage of vitamin C and the 6% difference with the reference animals in lot (1) is not significant.
After the 11th week, this ponderal growth of animals of lot (5) becomes superior to be one of the animals of lot (4), which nevertheless received a daily dosage of 10mg/kg vitamin C. This difference reaches 24% in the 14th week.
2. Effect on survival time The study of the survival time of the animals of the different lots completes the observations made on ponderal growth.
It is thus that:
- the animals of the 2nd lot all die during the 5th week;
- the animals of lot (3) die between the 9th and the 11th week:
- those of lot (4) between the 12th and the 14th week;
- finally, in lot(5), we find a four deaths during the 16th week
When we stop our experiment at the end of the 14th week, six animals of lot (5) are still alive. The average weight of the surviving animals is 638 g and thus doesn't significantly differ from the weight of the reference lot. At autopsy these animals don't allow any signs of deficiency, which we found in all the other animals lots (2-4).
The joining of the vitamin C at the dosage of 5mg/kg and the OPC at a dosage of 20mg/kg brings about a protection of 60% of the animals during the 16 weeks. This protection is far superior to the one obtained by the daily dosage of 10mg/kg body weight ascorbic acid.
Conclusion: This study enabled us to demonstrate that OPC administered to guinea pigs deprived of vitamin C and receiving each day a suboptimal dosage of 5mg ascorbic acid, can partially correct the lesions provoked by this deficiency.
The supplementation with OPC even allows to obtain a ponderal growth and a survival time of the animals, which are neatly superior to those obtained with a daily dosage of 10mg/kg ascorbic acid. Nevertheless, the dosages of OPC and vitamin C did not allow a total protection of the animals. The OPC thus has a role of vitamin C saving factor.