Ascorbic acid improves postischemic vasodilatation impaired by infusion of soybean oil into canine iliac artery

This study was conducted to (a) assess postischemic vasodilatation by changes in the vascular cross-sectional area using simultaneous intravascular two-dimensional and Doppler ultrasound before and after the infusion of Intralipid (Pharmacia and Upjohn, Peapack, NJ, U.S.A.); (b) evaluate how antioxidant ascorbic acid modifies the effects of Intralipid on postischemic vasodilatation; and (c) clarify the changes in plasma nitrite and nitrate (NOx^-) levels after the infusion of Intralipid with and without ascorbic acid. Twenty-eight mongrel dogs were used to measure for vascular cross-sectional area and average instantaneous peak velocity in the iliac arteries after the 5-min occlusion of the arteries. Postischemic vasodilatation was impaired after the infusion of Intralipid (20%, 2 ml/kg) and this impaired response was reversed by the co-administration of ascorbic acid (30 mg/kg). N(G)-monomethyl-L-arginine completely abolished postischemic vasodilatation. Plasma NOx^- levels were significantly reduced after the infusion of Intralipid compared with baseline (11.6 ± 0.4 vs. 12.9 ± 0.3 μM, p = 0.025) and after infusion of Intralipid with ascorbic acid compared with baseline (11.8 ± 0.5 vs. 13.1 ± 0.4 μM, p = 0.047). We concluded that ascorbic acid reverses the endothelial dysfunction induced by Intralipid without increasing plasma NOx^- levels and that deactivation of nitric oxide by oxidative stress is a primary contributor to Intralipid-induced impaired vasodilation.