Stimulatory action of ascorbic acid on methyl mercury-induced lipid peroxidation in rabbit kidney cortex slices.

Effects of ascorbic acid on the methylmercuric chloride (MMC)-induced lipid peroxidation and the accumulation of MMC in rabbit kidney cortical slices were studied. Ascorbic acid had a powerful stimulatory effect on the MMC-induced lipid peroxidation, while it produced only a small increase in the MMC accumulation. This results suggests that ascorbic acid increases slightly the accumulation of MMC, but that the stimulatory action of ascorbic acid on the MMC-induced lipid peroxidation cannot be explained simply by the increase in the MMC accumulation.