Whole Blood and Plasma Vitamin C Concentrations in
Children of 1-6 Years of Age in the Chinju Area

Woo, Hyang-Ok; Jun, Jin-Su; Park, Ji-Hoe; Kim, Young-Suk; Kim, Eun-A; Lim, Jae-Young; Choi, Myoung-Bum; Park, Chan-Hoo; Youn, Hee-Shang; Ko, Gyung-Hyuck; Park, Chan-Hoo; Lee, Woo-Kon; Cho, Myung-Je; Rhee, Kwang-Ho

Original Article

Journal of the Korean Pediatric Society 2001;44(5):501-508.
Published online May 15, 2001.

Whole Blood and Plasma Vitamin C Concentrations in Children of 1-6 Years of Age in the Chinju Area

Hyang-Ok Woo¹, Jin-Su Jun¹, Ji-Hoe Park¹, Young-Suk Kim¹, Eun-A Kim¹, Jae-Young Lim¹, Myoung-Bum Choi¹, Chan-Hoo Park¹, Hee-Shang Youn¹, Gyung-Hyuck Ko², Chan-Hoo Park³, Woo-Kon Lee³, Myung-Je Cho³, Kwang-Ho Rhee³

¹Departments of Pediatrics, Gyeongsang National University College of Medicine, Chinju, Korea
²Departments of Pathology, Gyeongsang National University College of Medicine, Chinju, Korea
³Departments of Microbiology, Gyeongsang National University College of Medicine, Chinju, Korea

진주지역에 거주하는 1-6세 소아의 전혈 및 혈장 비타민 C 농도

우향옥^¹^, 전진수^¹^, 박지희^¹^, 김용숙^¹^, 김은아^¹^, 임재명^¹^, 최명범^¹^, 박찬후^¹^, 윤희상^¹^, 고경혁^²^, 백승철^³^, 이우곤^³^, 조명제^³^, 이광호^³

^¹경상대학교 의과대학 소아과학교실
^²경상대학교 의과대학 조직병리학교실
^³경상대학교 의과대학 미생물학교실

Correspondence:
Hee-Shang Youn, Email: hsyoun@nongae.gsnu.ac.kr

Abstract

Purpose
: Vitamin C among antioxidants in human is a physiological antioxidant for protection against diseases. We measured the vitamin C concentrations of whole blood and plasma among children in early childhood at normal condition in order to know the presence of vitamin C deficiency.
Methods
: The venous blood was collected from 471 subjects at 1-6 years of ages in Chinju. Concentra- tions of vitamin C in whole blood and plasma were measured by the 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine method.
Results
: Concentrations of vitamin C in whole blood and plasma were 1.68mg/dL and 0.94mg/dL, respectively. While concentrations of vitamin C in the whole blood and plasma of males were 1.69 mg/dL and 0.92mg/dL, respectively. Those of females, were 1.68mg/dL and 1.00mg/dL, respectively. The concentrations did not significantly differ by gender. Concentrations of vitamin C in plasma were positively correlated with the age of the entire study group and of female(P=0.01). Percentages of subjects with vitamin C concentrations of the whole blood less than 1.0mg/dL were 1.9%, and those of the plasma of below 0.6mg/dL were 20.6%.
Conclusion
: Concentrations of vitamin C in whole blood and plasma did not show normal distribution. And there were no relationship among age, gender, and vitamin C concentrations at early childhood. A significant number of children in Chinju had suboptimal plasma vitamin C concentration. These findings suggest a need for an increased vitamin C intake in this area.

Key Words: Whole blood, Plasma, Vitamin C, Antioxidant, Child