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Stability of whole blood and plasma ascorbic acid

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 61, pages 1233–1236 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of pre-analytical factors on the short and long term stability of ascorbic acid (AA), the main form of vitamin C in whole blood and plasma. The effects of various anticoagulants, acidification, storage temperature and time were tested. A recently developed fast and sensitive HPLC method was used to measure AA levels. AA baseline values observed in heparin plasma were significantly higher than values observed in EDTA, citrate and Stabilyte plasma, as well as in serum. pH and temperature were identified as additional critical pre-analytical factors during the short, medium and long term handling and storage. Thus, assessment of reliable and accurate AA status in biological samples demonstrates to be highly dependent on whether the initial conditions during sample handling are controlled. In conclusion, heparin tubes should be used for blood sample collection. As AA is rapidly degraded, sample collection should be followed by immediate centrifugation and plasma acidification. To avoid further degradation during sample handling, samples should be stored at −70°C without delay and analyzed within 80 days.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Norwegian Cancer Society, The Research Council of Norway and The Throne Holst Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutrition, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    A Karlsen, R Blomhoff & T E Gundersen

  2. AS Vitas, Oslo Research Park, Oslo, Norway

    T E Gundersen

Authors
  1. A Karlsen
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  2. R Blomhoff
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  3. T E Gundersen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to T E Gundersen.

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Guarantor: TE Gundersen.

Contributors: AK, RB, and TEG contributed to the study design and data collection. AK was responsible for the laboratory analysis. AK was responsible for the statistical analysis. AK, RB and TEG contributed to the interpretation of the results. AK was responsible for writing the manuscript.

Conflict of interest

TEG and RB are employee and consultant, respectively, for Vitas AS, as well as shareholders in the company.

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Karlsen, A., Blomhoff, R. & Gundersen, T. Stability of whole blood and plasma ascorbic acid. Eur J Clin Nutr 61, 1233–1236 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602655

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