Vitamin C as a radioprotector against iodine-131 in vivo

The capacity of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) to mitigate radiation damage resulting from the tissue-incorporated radionuclide ¹³¹I is examined. Spermatogenesis in mice is the experimental model and spermhead survival is the biological endpoint. When a small nontoxic amount of vitamin C was injected, followed by a similar injection of ¹³¹I, the 37% spermhead survival dose (D₃₇) increased by a factor of 2.2 compared with the D₃₇ in animals receiving only the radionuclide. Similar radioprotection was also observed when the animals were maintained on a diet enriched with 1% vitamin C (by weight). These results suggest that vitamin C may play an important role as a radioprotector against accidental or medical radiation exposures, especially when radionuclides are incorporated in the body and deliver the dose in a chronic fashion.