Decreased levels of ascorbic acid in lung following exposure to oxone.

Mice were exposed to concentrations of 20, 40 and 200 ppm ozone in air for 30 min. Ozone exposure decreased lung ascorbic acid levels and increased lung weight by up to 50% in a dose related manner. On incubation in Krebs-phosphate solution, lung slices from mice exposed to 200 ppm ozone released a smaller fraction of their content of ascorbic acid into the medium than did lung slices from control mice, suggesting that there was a preferential loss of extracellular ascorbic acid during oxone exposure. These results are consistent with the proposed function of ascorbic acid as an extracellular antioxidant in lungs.