(Hypertension. 2001;37:261.)
© 2001 American Heart Association, Inc.
Scientific Contributions |
Ascorbic Acid Status and Subsequent Diastolic and Systolic Blood Pressure
From the National Cancer Institute (G.B., B.H.P., P.R.T.), Bethesda, Md; US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Center (A.R.M., O.A.L.), Beltsville, Md; and Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center (E.P.N.), Bronx, NY. Dr Block’s present affiliation is the University of California, Berkeley.
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Abstract |
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Free radicals and oxidation are involved in several aspects of blood pressure physiology. We investigated the relationship between blood pressure and antioxidants, including plasma ascorbic acid (AscA), in a 17-week controlled-diet study. Study subjects included 68 men aged 30 to 59 years who had a mean diastolic blood pressure of 73.4 mm Hg and a mean systolic blood pressure of 122.2 mm Hg. One month of vitamin C depletion was followed by 1-month repletion with 117 mg/d, repeated twice. All food and drink were provided in the study. Subjects did not smoke or drink alcohol, all consumed fruits and vegetables, and body weight was maintained. Plasma was assayed periodically for AscA,
-tocopherol,
carotenoids, and lipids. Plasma AscA was inversely related to
diastolic blood pressure 1 month later (correlation
-0.48, P<0.0001). Persons in
the bottom fourth of the plasma AscA distribution had >7 mm Hg
higher diastolic blood pressure than did those in the top
fourth of the plasma AscA distribution. Multivariate
analysis with control for age, body mass index, other plasma
antioxidants, and dietary energy, calcium, fiber, sodium, and potassium
did not reduce the plasma AscA effect. One fourth of the variance in
diastolic blood pressure was accounted for by plasma AscA
alone. Plasma AscA was also significantly associated with
systolic blood pressure in logistic regression. Vitamin C may
be an important component of the effectiveness of fruits and vegetables
in the reduction in blood pressure, and tissue AscA levels may be
important in the maintenance of low blood pressure. Long-term
intervention studies are warranted.
Key Words: blood pressure • nutrition • diet • ascorbic acid • antioxidants
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Introduction |
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Recent research has demonstrated a host of mechanisms by which antioxidants could affect blood pressure (BP). The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension1 (DASH) study demonstrated that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can significantly reduce BP in persons with moderate BP elevation; fruits and vegetables are major sources of antioxidants, as well as other nutritional factors such as fiber and potassium. Although a varied diet may confer benefits greater than those of any single nutrient, it would be useful to determine whether a particular nutrient plays a major regulatory role. In the present study, in which diet and other factors were tightly controlled, we examined the role of vitamin C and several other antioxidants in influencing BP.
A recent review of research on the relationship between vitamin C and BP2 found an inverse association of vitamin C with BP to be "reasonably consistent across different studies and populations, with a variety of study designs." Several cross-sectional studies were found to have highly significant inverse relationships (P<0.001) between BP and plasma ascorbic acid (AscA). More recently, Bates et al3 found ascorbate to be the only plasma nutrient negatively and significantly associated with BP. Finally, a recent case-comparison study found significantly lower AscA levels in hypertensives (40 µmol/L) than in normotensives (57 µmol/L).4
Cross-sectional studies, however, provide only weak evidence for a causal relationship, because vitamin C intake and blood levels are correlated with other factors, such as dietary fiber and carotenoids. A number of intervention studies have been conducted, but most have had various methodological problems that make them difficult to interpret.2 Many were very small, and some had no control group, permitted placebo subjects to take multivitamins, did not exclude smokers, did not control alcohol or other dietary intake, or did not control body weight changes or other factors that might affect BP. A few intervention studies have been conducted since the review by Ness et al.5 6 7 8 Miller et al7 administered vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta-carotene to 297 older persons and found no BP difference between the antioxidant and placebo groups. However, all subjects, including the placebo group, were permitted to take a multivitamin that contained vitamins C and E and beta-carotene during the trial, and 87% of both groups did so. Salonen et al5 and Duffy et al6 both found a statistically significant reduction in BP in subjects administered vitamin C compared with placebo.
Because of the research on oxidants and redox status in several BP-relevant biological systems and the preexisting literature on vitamin C and BP, we hypothesized that ascorbate status, change in ascorbate status, or both might be related to BP. The research presented here investigates whether vitamin C or other antioxidant status is associated with BP in a feeding study with a normotensive sample of subjects who did not smoke, drink, or alter their body weight during the 17-week study.
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Methods |
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The National Cancer Institute (NCI), in collaboration with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), undertook the present study to investigate several aspects of AscA metabolism. The study was approved by the Human Subjects Committees of NCI and USDA, and informed consent was obtained.
Study Design
Sixty-eight healthy men aged 30 to 59 years who had
not smoked in the previous 
6 months were recruited from the
Beltsville, Maryland, area. Smokers were excluded so that the effects
of dietary vitamin C intake could be examined unconfounded by any
effect of smoking on BP and AscA. The subjects’ mean age was 40.6
years (range 30 to 59 years), mean weight was 80.9 kg (range 59.3 to
100.8 kg), and mean body mass index (BMI) was 25.7
kg/m2 (range 18.1 to 34.9
kg/m2).
After 1 month of stabilization on 60 mg/d vitamin C intake, all participants underwent 1 month of vitamin C depletion (weeks 1 to 5) followed by 1 month of repletion (weeks 6 to 9). This pattern was then repeated: depletion (weeks 10 to 13) and then repletion (weeks 14 to 17). The design and methods have been reported elsewhere.9 10 Subjects did not smoke, drink alcohol, use aspirin, take any supplements, or consume any food other than that provided in the study during the entire 17-week controlled-diet period. Energy intake was adjusted weekly to prevent weight gain or loss. Physical activity, stress, sickness, and other factors were recorded daily.
Diets
A 14-day rotating menu provided 
50% of energy
from carbohydrates and 36% from fat. The diet during the depletion
periods contained 9 mg vitamin C/d provided by fruits and vegetables
that contain little vitamin C: pear nectar, grape juice, apple juice,
pears, fruit cocktail, applesauce, canned plums, raisins, pinto beans,
iceberg lettuce, cucumber, celery, beets, corn, carrots, zucchini,
mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, and mushrooms. For repletion,
subjects were randomized to receive 117 mg vitamin C from 1 of 3
sources: oranges, broccoli, or vitamin C supplement. The vitamin C
supplement group continued to eat the fruits and vegetables in the
depletion diet, as listed. The oranges and broccoli were assayed twice
weekly, and amounts were adjusted to maintain identical dosages
throughout the study.
During depletion, nutrient intakes averaged 3062 kcal, 992 mg calcium, 2498 mg potassium, 3291 mg sodium, and 22 g fiber. During repletion, the supplement group had a slightly lower intake of potassium (2450 versus 2664 mg in the fruit and vegetable groups) and dietary fiber (21.5 versus 23.4 g in the fruit and vegetable groups).
Compliance
Subjects were monitored during meals; uneaten food
was negligible and had no effect on average vitamin C intake. Daily
reports of protocol violations and a final, postreimbursement anonymous
questionnaire revealed that reported dietary omissions or commissions
were minor and had no effect on average energy, vitamin C, or other
nutrient intake. These monitoring procedures, similar to those of the
DASH study, indicated excellent compliance with the dietary
regimen.
BP Analyses
BP was measured with a Critikon Dinamap model 8100
Portable Blood Pressure Monitor (Critikon,
Inc)11 beginning in week 9,
the end of the first repletion period. Subjects sat quietly for 5
minutes before the BP measurement, without talking, with the legs
uncrossed, and with the arm supported at heart level. Measurement was
repeated 3 times, and the average of the last 2 measures was used in
the analyses.
Plasma Analyses
Fasting venous blood was collected biweekly
during the depletion periods (weeks 3, 5, 11, and 13), and weekly
during the repletion periods (weeks 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, and 17).
Plasma was stabilized with 10% meta-phosphoric acid, and total
ascorbate concentration was determined spectrophotometrically with
2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine,12
which correlates highly with HPLC
methods.13 AscA is
presented here in units of mg/dL as well as in µmol/L, for
comparison with earlier data. Plasma was also assayed for carotenoids,
retinol, selenium, and - and 
-tocopherol at the same
weeks as plasma ascorbate and for cholesterol at weeks 1,
5, 9, 13, and 17.
Statistical Analyses
The main outcome in this study was not change in BP
at the end of depletion and repletion, because subjects had already
undergone 1 full depletion-repletion cycle before BP measurement was
begun, and in both cases, they were incomplete depletions and
repletions.9 One third of the
subjects had not reached a plateau in plasma AscA at the end of the
first repletion, and half had not reached a plasma plateau at the end
of the second repletion. Consequently, although changes in BP at
various time points are presented here, the main outcome to be
examined was the effect of baseline tissue stores (as reflected in
plasma AscA retained after 1 month of depletion) on subsequent BP.
Multiple regression, ANOVA, t
tests, and Pearson’s correlations were calculated with SAS Version
6.12, with significance at
P<0.05.
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Results |
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Subjects (57 whites, 8 blacks, and 3 Asians) had a mean diastolic BP (DBP) at week 9 of 73 mm Hg (range 53 to 97 mm Hg) and a mean systolic BP (SBP) of 122 mm Hg (range 103 to 143 mm Hg). Only 4 were hypertensive (DBP >90 mm Hg or SBP >140 mm Hg). Age, weight, and BMI were positively associated with BP and significantly so for age and DBP (r=0.33, P=0.006) (data not shown).
Average plasma ascorbate (AscA) during the last 2 weeks of depletion 1 (weeks 4 to 5) was 26.9 µmol/L (0.47 mg/dL), and during that period, >80% of subjects had an AscA level of >22.7 µmol/L, which is often considered the lower level of "normal."14 At week 5, the end of depletion, AscA varied from 13.6 to 29 µmol/L (0.24 to 0.51 mg/dL), and one third of subjects were still above 22.7 µmol/L. On repletion, subjects attained a mean plasma AscA of 71.6 µmol/L (1.26 mg/dL) after the first repletion (week 9) and 60.2 µmol/L after the second repletion (week 17). The AscA attained on a given dose varied widely, and large numbers of subjects had not reached a plateau during either repletion period.9
Table 1 shows the relationship of week-9 DBP with several plasma variables measured at weeks 5 and 9. (None of the variables shown in Table 1 were significantly associated with SBP in univariate analyses [data not shown]). Of the plasma nutrients examined, only ascorbate was significantly and inversely correlated with DBP (r=-0.48, P<0.0001 for week-5 AscA).
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Table 1 suggests a stronger effect of the prospective association of AscA (week-5 AscA with week-9 DBP) than of the concurrent or cross-sectional association (week 9 with week 9). This is particularly notable because week-5 AscA, which is at the end of the first depletion period, may reflect tissue stores of AscA. It has been noted previously that persons who enter the depletion period with lower tissue stores have less reserves to preserve plasma levels, and thus plasma levels fall further.9
To initially explore this association of week-5 AscA with DBP, age-adjusted mean DBP over weeks 9, 13, and 17 was plotted by quartile of AscA at week 5 (Figure, A). Persons who had high AscA at week 5 had the lowest DBP at each time point (trend P=0.007 in week 9, P=0.02 in week 13, and P=0.06 in week 17). Overall, DBP rose 0.8 mm Hg on depletion (P>0.1) and fell 1.4 mm Hg on repletion (P=0.1). Those with high AscA at week 5 also had the lowest SBP at each time point (Figure, B), but these differences between groups and changes over time were nonsignificant for SBP.
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Regression analyses were conducted to evaluate whether the apparent effect of week-5 AscA on DBP is due to other factors (Table 2). No other variable had a significant inverse association with DBP. The week-5 AscA level remained highly significant (P<0.001) even after control for any of the plasma or dietary variables shown. All 3 repletion source groups (vitamin C supplement, oranges, or broccoli) had similar week-9 DBPs (73.6, 72.3, and 74.2 mm Hg, respectively); the source of vitamin C was not itself significant in ANOVA (P=0.89) and did not alter the significance of the ascorbate effect. Sickness, injury, and days of vigorous exercise did not alter the association between AscA and DBP (data not shown).
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In final multiple regression models, AscA quartile at week 5 was the most significant factor associated with week-9 DBP (Table 3). Each increase in week-5 AscA quartile was associated with 2.4 mm Hg lower DBP at week 9 (P=0.003). The week-5 AscA quartile was still negatively associated with DBP at week 13 (P=0.02) but was no longer significantly associated with DBP at week 17 (P=0.09). AscA was inversely but not significantly associated with SBP at weeks 9, 13, and 17 (data not shown).
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For ease in examining the association between AscA and
BP at their conventional cutpoints of normal (or optimal in the case of
BP),14 15
subjects were divided on the basis of week-9 BP (> or <DBP 80
mm Hg or SBP 120 mm Hg) and on the basis of AscA (week-5 AscA >
or <22.7 µmol/L AscA [0.4 mg/dL])
(Table 4). In this prospective analysis (week-5
AscA, week-9 DBP), only 1 out of 24 persons (4%) who had maintained
22.7 µmol/L AscA throughout weeks 1 to 5 had week-9 DBP of
>80 mm Hg, compared with 11 out of 44 (25%) of those with lower
AscA. The relative risk (RR) was 6.0, and adjustment for age, BMI, and
dietary variables increased the RR to 7.2. There also was a
statistically significant effect for SBP, RR of 1.9 unadjusted, which
increased to RR of 4.0 after adjustment. Examined cross-sectionally
(week-9 AscA, week-9 DBP), none whose week-9 plasma AscA values reached
79.5 µmol/L (sometimes considered the upper limit of "normal")
had DBP of >80 mm Hg, whereas about one third of the men with
lower plasma AscA values had this level of DBP (data not
shown).
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Discussion |
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This study provides evidence that plasma ascorbate is inversely associated with BP, even in healthy subjects with a quite low range of BP. Both after several weeks at blood AscA levels lower than most Americans and at blood levels higher than most Americans, an association with BP was found for AscA and not for other plasma nutrients.
A number of design aspects represent improvements over previous studies. Habituation to an intervention protocol, and regression to the mean, often results in declines in BP for those reasons alone, even on placebo treatment.16 This study, which did not select subjects on the basis of elevated BP and which did not begin BP measurement until week 9, avoids those potential artifactual results, and BP changes between week 9 and week 13 are in the opposite direction as what would be expected from habituation. Nutrient intake was controlled, avoiding potential confounding by changes in subjects’ intake of dietary fat, potassium, or calcium. In addition, nutrients such as potassium and fiber were controlled in multivariate models and did not alter the AscA effect. Body weight was monitored weekly, and energy intake was adjusted to prevent changes; thus, changes in body weight could not explain the BP effects. Subjects did not smoke or consume alcohol, behaviors associated with alterations in vitamin C status and BP. A number of plasma nutrients were evaluated in addition to ascorbate, and detailed data on subjects’ illnesses, exercise habits, stress, passive smoke exposure, and other factors were also examined. Finally, the prospective nature of the results and the very low BP of the subjects make it unlikely that hypertension caused low AscA.
There also were study limitations. It is possible that the AscA effect was due to an unmeasured correlate of AscA metabolism. However, numerous potential confounders were evaluated, as noted earlier, and none was found to alter the AscA effect. Other plasma nutrients were only weakly correlated with AscA (r<0.2).
Nor is this an adequate study of change in BP, despite its depletion/repletion design. The initial changes of interest, between the first depletion and the first repletion, could not be examined because BP measurement was not begun until the first repletion had been completed. Furthermore, an adequate study of change would require a sufficiently long intervention to permit tissue stores to reach a fully repleted steady state. The absence of plateaus in plasma levels in these subjects9 provides evidence that body pools and tissue stores had not reached a steady state after the depletion and repletion end points. These factors make interpretation of the changes with depletion and repletion difficult.
Nevertheless, the magnitude of BP changes is consistent with those of the DASH study for nonhypertensives. The fall in DBP in the present study between week 13 (depletion) and week 17 (repletion) (on average, 1.4 mm Hg) is greater than the 0.3 mm Hg seen in the DASH fruit/vegetable group and well within the confidence interval of the DASH study combination group (2.1 mm Hg, CI 0.5 to 3.6).
The depletion and repletion conditions in this study
are relevant to conditions in developed countries. The repletion intake
of vitamin C, 117 mg/d, is easily achievable in a normal diet and is
approximately the average amount consumed by most
Americans.17 The blood AscA
levels achieved on repletion are seen in US data; among men in this age
range in the Second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
(NHANES II),17 the 75th
percentile was 73.8 µmol/L (1.3 mg/dL), comparable to the 75th
percentile of 79.9 µmol/L at week 9 in the present study. The
depletion levels are also relevant to the US data. Although the vitamin
C fed during depletion is lower than the intake of most Americans, the
blood AscA levels experienced during depletion are found in a
substantial proportion of the US population. The average AscA during
the last 2 weeks of depletion was 26.9 µmol/L; in NHANES II, 20%
of American men in this age range had blood AscA levels this low or
lower. An even higher proportion of black men, 30%, had blood AscA
levels in this
range.17
Blacks have higher rates of hypertension and associated disabilities18 and lower levels of AscA as noted earlier. This study suggests that some of the hypertension among blacks may be due to low AscA levels, an observation consistent with other data.19
The cross-sectional association between AscA and DBP (r=-0.31) was as strong as the age-DBP association (r=0.33) in this study (Tables 1 and 2) and similar to cross-sectional correlations between AscA and BP in earlier studies. However, the data presented here represent an advance over cross-sectional analyses for several reasons: (1) the study provided all of the food consumed by subjects, and therefore other dietary factors could be and were examined; (2) the AscA association was seen at all time points and to the exclusion of other plasma and dietary nutrients; and (3) the study design permitted examination of an AscA-depleted state that may reflect tissue stores. It is this latter feature that suggests a role for AscA and suggests possible mechanisms.
The level of plasma AscA retained after a period of low intake indirectly reflects long-term tissue stores before the study. Subjects who enter the week-1 to -5 depletion period without full tissue AscA saturation have lower initial tissue stores to maintain plasma levels during depletion, resulting in lower plasma AscA levels at week 5. It was AscA levels at this point that were most strongly associated with BP (r=-0.48 in Table 1). Thus, these results suggest that it may be total body AscA stores, or AscA concentrations in BP-relevant tissues, that are important in preventing elevated BP.
Pharmacokinetic studies have indicated the presence of
3 ascorbate "compartments," of which plasma is only
1.20 21
Furthermore, numerous human organs and tissues import AscA against a
concentration gradient, achieving very high levels. Adrenal and
pituitary glands have 100 times the plasma concentration of AscA,
and liver, spleen, pancreas, brain, and eye lens have 20- to 30-fold
the plasma concentration, in both rats, guinea pigs, and
humans.21 In chronic
marginal intake, certain key organs may have higher priority than
vascular cells or other organs related to BP, resulting in chronic
undersupply in relation to their optimal requirements.
This hypothesis could explain why week-5 AscA was the strongest predictor of subsequent BP: persons who reached lower levels at week 5 had lower total body stores, possibly indicating chronic undersupply in the vascular or other BP-relevant tissues, and those tissues were incompletely repleted in subsequent cycles. Thus, the value of the week-5 data is not in suggesting that deficient vitamin C intake is associated with elevated BP (>80% of subjects had "normal" AscA during the last 2 weeks of depletion) but in suggesting that body stores of AscA may be associated with BP.
This hypothesis of vascular tissue–specific AscA depletion is consistent with a number of biological mechanisms that could explain an AscA-BP relationship; these include prevention by AscA of free radical inhibition of prostacyclin synthetase, prevention by AscA of nitric oxide inhibition of release of endothelium-derived relaxing factor,22 promotion by AscA of endothelial prostacyclin production, effects of AscA on smooth muscle contractility of peripheral blood vessels and improvement of vasomotor dysfunction, effects of AscA on aortic collagen, and others.23 24 25 26 27
MacMahon et al28 estimated that a reduction of 2 mm Hg in average population DBP could be associated with 14% fewer strokes and 8% less coronary heart disease. Table 3 indicates a potential effect of 2.4 mm Hg DBP for each higher quartile of AscA, over the range of AscA values seen at week 5. Over the range of AscA values attained at week 9 after 1 month on 117 mg/d, a potential effect of 1.2 mm Hg for each higher week-9 AscA quartile is indicated. The AscA blood levels seen in this study, at both the lower and the upper ends, are well within the levels seen routinely in the US population. These data suggest the possibility of important reductions in BP if adequate AscA tissue stores are achieved and maintained. Because this study was not a randomized placebo-controlled trial, it cannot definitively address the question of whether normal levels of DBP could be reduced even further if higher blood levels of ascorbate were attained and maintained (nor whether hypertension could be reduced, because subjects were normotensive). Long-term, well-designed interventions are clearly needed, but this study provides substantial evidence for a possible role for AscA in the prevention of elevated BP.
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Acknowledgments |
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We acknowledge the assistance of William Campbell, John Canary, Arlene Salbe, Joseph Vanderslice, Elaine Wolfe, Ida Tateo, and the staff of the Beltsville US Department of Agriculture Human Studies Facility
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Footnotes |
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Reprint requests to Gladys Block, PhD, 426 Warren Hall, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720.
Received April 19, 2000; first decision May 19, 2000; accepted July 25, 2000.
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 C. Vergely, F. Goirand, A. Ecarnot-Laubriet, C. Renard, D. Moreau, J.-C. Guilland, M. Dumas, and L. Rochette Vitamin C Deficiency Exerts Paradoxical Cardiovascular Effects in Osteogenic Disorder Shionogi (ODS) Rats J. Nutr., April 1, 2004; 134(4): 729 - 735. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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H. F. Lopes, K. L. Martin, K. Nashar, J. D. Morrow, T. L. Goodfriend, and B. M. Egan DASH Diet Lowers Blood Pressure and Lipid-Induced Oxidative Stress in Obesity Hypertension, March 1, 2003; 41(3): 422 - 430. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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 K. J Lenton, A. T Sane, H. Therriault, A. M Cantin, H. Payette, and J R. Wagner Vitamin C augments lymphocyte glutathione in subjects with ascorbate deficiency Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, January 1, 2003; 77(1): 189 - 195. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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L. P. Svetkey and C. M. Loria Blood Pressure Effects of Vitamin C: What's the Key Question? Hypertension, December 1, 2002; 40(6): 789 - 791. [Full Text] [PDF]
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M. K. Kim, S. Sasaki, S. Sasazuki, S. Okubo, M. Hayashi, and S. Tsugane Lack of Long-Term Effect of Vitamin C Supplementation on Blood Pressure Hypertension, December 1, 2002; 40(6): 797 - 803. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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B. A. Mullan, I. S. Young, H. Fee, and D. R. McCance Ascorbic Acid Reduces Blood Pressure and Arterial Stiffness in Type 2 Diabetes Hypertension, December 1, 2002; 40(6): 804 - 809. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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J. Chen, J. He, L. Hamm, V. Batuman, and P. K. Whelton Serum Antioxidant Vitamins and Blood Pressure in the United States Population Hypertension, December 1, 2002; 40(6): 810 - 816. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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 U. N. Das Exploring the actions of vitamin C. Can. Med. Assoc. J., July 10, 2001; 165(1): 13 - 14. [Full Text]
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L. J. Appel and E. R. Miller Editorial Commentary: BBs and Bullets : The Impact of Dietary Factors on Blood Pressure Hypertension, February 1, 2001; 37(2): 268 - 269. [Full Text] [PDF]
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