Jukes T H
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1975 Oct;72(10):4151-2. doi: 10.1073/pnas.72.10.4151.
Recommended Daily Allowances (US RDA) of the Food and Drug Administration for ascorbic acid are higher than Recommended Dietary Allowances (set by the Food and Nutrition Board) for adults. There is a 6-fold margin between the requirement to prevent scurvy and the US RDA. The high requirement reported for the rhesus monkey may be needed to compensate for oxidative catabolism of ascorbic acid in this species. The rate of production of ascorbic acid, in mammals that synthesize it has been listed as 3-19 g/70 kg per day. If this high rate of synthesis represents the requirement of such animals, mutations that caused a loss of ascorbic-acid-synthesizing ability would be eliminated by natural selection on diets that failed to supply these large quantities. The loss of ascorbic-acid-synthesizing ability by human beings could indicate a low requirement, which has enabled our species to spread to regions of the earth where dietary sources of ascorbic acid are poor.
美国食品药品监督管理局规定的抗坏血酸每日推荐摄入量（US RDA）高于食品营养委员会为成年人设定的膳食推荐摄入量。预防坏血病的需求量与US RDA之间存在6倍的差距。恒河猴报告的高需求量可能是为了补偿该物种中抗坏血酸的氧化分解代谢。在能够合成抗坏血酸的哺乳动物中，其合成速率被列为每天3 - 19克/70千克。如果这种高合成速率代表了此类动物的需求量，那么导致抗坏血酸合成能力丧失的突变会在无法提供大量抗坏血酸的饮食的自然选择中被淘汰。人类抗坏血酸合成能力的丧失可能表明需求量较低，这使得我们这个物种能够扩散到地球上抗坏血酸膳食来源匮乏的地区。
