Vitamin C requirements of the vervet monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops) under experimental conditions
de Klerk, W.A.; du Plessis, J.P.; van der Watt, J.J.; de Jager, A.; Laubscher, N.F.
South African Medical Journal 47(16): 705-708
1973
ISSN/ISBN: 0256-9574 PMID: 4633567 Document Number: 68654
A colony of 80 vervet monkeys used in long-term toxicity studies and housed in ventilated and temperature-controlled rooms showed gingival bleeding and fibrous gingival hyperplasia associated with serum vitamin C below 0.3 mg/100 ml. Sources of vitamin C in the diet were apples and bananas given daily in quantities considered sufficient to prevent scurvy, 0.5 to 0.7 mg/kg bodyweight (NAR 15, 1181). The mean serum vitamin C of 21 newly captured monkeys was 2.03 mg/100 ml; that of 9 monkeys decreased by about one-third during the first 10 days of captivity, attributed to change in environment and stress of captivity. When ascorbic acid 10, 20 and 30 mg/day was added to the diet of groups of monkeys from the colony, serum vitamin C increased. When 6 monkeys with severe gingival hyperplasia were given subcutaneous injections of large amounts of vitamin C for 4 weeks there was no evidence of improvement but thereafter when they were given a supplement with their diet of all vitamins together with ascorbic acid 20 mg/day, the petechial gingival bleeding improved although the fibrous gingival hyperplasia was still present after 6 months.