The DOI matches its Crossref record; 44 of the 44 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
A randomized controlled trial of high dose ascorbic acid for reduction of blood pressure, cortisol, and subjective responses to psychological stress
Abstract
Rationale Physiological responses to stress are considered disruptive to health. High-dose ascorbic acid has reduced indices of stress in laboratory animals.Methods We conducted a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled 14-day trial of sustained-release ascorbic acid (60 healthy young adults; 3 x1000 mg/day Cetebe) and placebo (60 healthy young adults) for reduction of blood pressure, cortisol, and subjective response to acute psychological stress (Trier Social Stress Test, TSST, consisting of public speaking and mental arithmetic). Six subjects from each group were excluded.Results Compared to the placebo group, the ascorbic acid group had less systolic blood pressure (an increase of 23 versus 31 mmHg), diastolic blood pressure, and subjective stress responses to the TSST; and also had faster salivary cortisol recovery (but not smaller overall cortisol response). Cortisol response to 1 microg ACTH, and reported side-effects during the trial did not differ between groups. Plasma ascorbic acid level at the end of the trial but not pre-trial was associated with reduced stress reactivity of systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and subjective stress, and with greater salivary cortisol recovery.Conclusions Treatment with high-dose sustained-release ascorbic acid palliates blood pressure, cortisol, and subjective response to acute psychological stress. These effects are not attributable to modification of adrenal responsiveness.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Both studies with sustained-release vitamin C as the intervention were placebo-controlled [29,31].”
From Enhanced Vitamin C Delivery: A Systematic Literature Review Assessing the Efficacy and Safety of Alternative Supplement Forms in Healthy Adults (2025) · cites this paper as [29]
In the citing paper
“From the assessment of the methodological quality of thirteen RCTs, ten (77%) showed a low risk of bias [12,16,27,28,29,30,31,32,35,37,38], two (15%) showed a high risk of bias [33,36] and one (8%) showed an unclear risk of bias [34].”
From Enhanced Vitamin C Delivery: A Systematic Literature Review Assessing the Efficacy and Safety of Alternative Supplement Forms in Healthy Adults (2025) · cites this paper as [29]
In the citing paper
“The study on sustained-release vitamin C (3000 mg daily for 14 days) did not find significant differences in adverse events between the intervention and placebo groups [29].”
From Enhanced Vitamin C Delivery: A Systematic Literature Review Assessing the Efficacy and Safety of Alternative Supplement Forms in Healthy Adults (2025) · cites this paper as [29]
In the citing paper
“An upset stomach was reported by 19% of participants taking sustained-release vitamin C in comparison with 15% in the placebo group; diarrhea was reported by 22% vs. 24%; and all other minor complaints by 39% vs. 37%, respectively.”
From Enhanced Vitamin C Delivery: A Systematic Literature Review Assessing the Efficacy and Safety of Alternative Supplement Forms in Healthy Adults (2025) · cites this paper as [29]
In the citing paper
“The studies on sustained-release vitamin C were all against placebo, disabling any conclusion to be made on its benefits over ascorbic acid or other, advanced formulations such as Ester-C®, etc. [29,31].”
From Enhanced Vitamin C Delivery: A Systematic Literature Review Assessing the Efficacy and Safety of Alternative Supplement Forms in Healthy Adults (2025) · cites this paper as [29]
Citations
Cites
Kirschbaum, C., Pirke, K.-M., & Hellhammer, D. H. (2008) · Neuropsychobiology · doi:10.1159/000119004 · Cited by 6,093
Psychosocial Influences on Mortality after Myocardial Infarction
Ruberman, W., Weinblatt, E., Goldberg, J. D., & Chaudhary, B. S. (1984) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejm198408303110902 · Cited by 979
Dressendörfer, R. A., Kirschbaum, C., Rohde, W., Stahl, F., & Strasburger, C. J. (1992) · The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology · doi:10.1016/0960-0760(92)90294-s · Cited by 882
Ascorbate regulation and its neuroprotective role in the brain
Rice, M. E. (2000) · Trends in Neurosciences · doi:10.1016/s0166-2236(99)01543-x · Cited by 835
Das State-Trait-Angstinventar (STAI) : theoretische Grundlagen und Handanweisung
Laux, L. (1981) · Beltz eBooks · Cited by 750
Rozanski, A., Merz, C. N. B., Krantz, D. S., Friedman, J. D., Resser, K. J., Morell, M., Hilton-Chalfen, S., Hestrin, L., Bietendorf, J., & Berman, D. S. (1988) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejm198804213181601 · Cited by 744
PSYCHONEUROENDOCRINOLOGY OF DEPRESSION
Plotsky, P. M., Owens, M. J., & Nemeroff, C. B. (1998) · Psychiatric Clinics of North America · doi:10.1016/s0193-953x(05)70006-x · Cited by 672
Kirschbaum, C., Prussner, J. C., Stone, A. A., Federenko, I., Gaab, J., Lintz, D., Schommer, N., & Hellhammer, D. H. (1995) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/00006842-199509000-00009 · Cited by 666
Khaw, K., Bingham, S. A., Welch, A. A., Luben, R., Wareham, N. J., Oakes, S., & Day, N. (2001) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(00)04128-3 · Cited by 576
Decreased memory performance in healthy humans induced by stress-level cortisol treatment
Newcomer, J. W. (1999) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.56.6.527 · Cited by 546
LUPIEN, S. J., Gaudreau, S., Tchiteya, B. M., Maheu, F. S., Sharma, S., Nair, N. P. V., Hauger, R. L., McEwen, B. S., & Meaney, M. J. (1997) · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · doi:10.1210/jcem.82.7.4075 · Cited by 394
Gokce, N., Keaney, J. F., Frei, B., Holbrook, M., Olesiak, M., Zachariah, B. J., Leeuwenburgh, C., Heinecke, J. W., & Vita, J. A. (1999) · Circulation · doi:10.1161/01.cir.99.25.3234 · Cited by 387
Effects of Mental Stress on Myocardial Ischemia During Daily Life
Gullette, E. C. D. (1997) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.1997.03540430033029 · Cited by 346
Cardiovascular Reactivity to Video Game Predicts Subsequent Blood Pressure Increases in Young Men
Markovitz, J. H., Raczynski, J. M., Wallace, D., Chettur, V., & Chesney, M. A. (1998) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/00006842-199803000-00014 · Cited by 183
Cardiovascular recovery from stress and hypertension risk factors: A meta‐analytic review
SCHULER, J. L. H., & O’Brien, W. H. (1997) · Psychophysiology · doi:10.1111/j.1469-8986.1997.tb02141.x · Cited by 176
Medical and psychiatric determinants of outpatient medical utilization
Barsky, A. J., Wyshak, G., & Klerman, G. L. (1986) · Medical Care · doi:10.1097/00005650-198606000-00009 · Cited by 161
Social Support Effects on Cardiovascular Reactivity
Christenfeld, N. J. S., Gerin, W., Linden, W., Sanders, M., Mathur, J., Deich, J. D., & Pickering, T. G. (1997) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/00006842-199707000-00009 · Cited by 155
Roy, M. P. (2001) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/s0306-4530(00)00061-5 · Cited by 143
Medical and Economic Costs of Psychologic Distress in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease
Allison, T. G., Williams, D. E., Miller, T. D., Patten, C. A., Bailey, K. R., Squires, R. W., & Gau, G. T. (1995) · Mayo Clinic Proceedings · doi:10.4065/70.8.734 · Cited by 132
Vitamin C and blood pressure–an overview
Ness, A., Chee, D., & Elliott, P. (1997) · Journal of Human Hypertension · doi:10.1038/sj.jhh.1000423 · Cited by 124
Role of ascorbic acid in chicks exposed to high environmental temperature
Pardue, S. L., Thaxton, J. P., & Brake, J. (1985) · Journal of Applied Physiology · doi:10.1152/jappl.1985.58.5.1511 · Cited by 124
Immune function in aged women is improved by ingestion of vitamins C and E
la Fuente, M. D., Ferrández, M. D., Burgos, M. S., Soler, A., I, A. P., & Miquel, J. (1998) · Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology · doi:10.1139/y98-038 · Cited by 119
Oral Vitamin C Reduces Arterial Stiffness and Platelet Aggregation in Humans
Wilkinson, I. B., Megson, I. L., MacCallum, H., Sogo, N., Cockcroft, J. R., & Webb, D. J. (1999) · Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology · doi:10.1097/00005344-199911000-00010 · Cited by 117
Does vitamin C reduce blood pressure?Results of a large study of people aged 65 or older
Bates, C. J., Walmsley, C. M., Prentice, A., & Finch, S. (1998) · Journal of Hypertension · doi:10.1097/00004872-199816070-00005 · Cited by 77
Biomarkers for Establishing a Tolerable Upper Intake Level for Vitamin C
Johnston, C. S. (1999) · Nutrition Reviews · doi:10.1111/j.1753-4887.1999.tb06926.x · Cited by 76
Auer, B. L., Auer, D., & Rodgers, A. L. (1998) · Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (CCLM) · doi:10.1515/cclm.1998.027 · Cited by 64
Dąbrowska, H., Dabrowski, K. R., Meyer‐Burgdorff, K. ‐., HANKE, W., & Günther, K. (1991) · Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A Physiology · doi:10.1016/0300-9629(91)90150-b · Cited by 51
Catecholamines and ascorbic acid as stimulators of bovine ovarian oxytocin secretion
Luck, M., & Jungclas, B. (1987) · Journal of Endocrinology · doi:10.1677/joe.0.1140423 · Cited by 50
Satterlee, D. G., Aguilera-Quintana, I., MUNN, B. J., & Krautmann, B. A. (1989) · Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A Physiology · doi:10.1016/0300-9629(89)90595-1 · Cited by 50
Cardiovascular Reactivity to Psychosocial Stressors
Mills, P. J., & Dimsdale, J. E. (1991) · Psychosomatics · doi:10.1016/s0033-3182(91)72094-x · Cited by 49
Hypertension risk factors and cardiovascular reactivity to mental stress in young men
Al’Absi, M., Everson‐Rose, S. A., & Lovallo, W. R. (1995) · International Journal of Psychophysiology · doi:10.1016/0167-8760(95)00029-1 · Cited by 42
Beishuizen, A., van Lijf, J. H., Lekkerkerker, J., & Vermes, I. (2000) · Netherlands Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1016/s0300-2977(99)00111-4 · Cited by 39
The demographic impact of sudden impoverishment : Eastern Europe during the 1989-94 transitionPreprint
Cornia, G. A., & Paniccià, R. (1995) · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics · Cited by 36
Bond, V., Mills, R. M., Caprarola, M., Vaccaro, P., Adams, R. G., Blakely, R. L., Roltsch, M. H., Hatfield, B., Davis, G. C., Franks, B. D., et al. (1999) · PubMed · Cited by 35
Sodium‐independent transport of noradrenaline in mouse and rat astrocytes in primary culture
Paterson, I. A., & Hertz, L. (1989) · Journal of Neuroscience Research · doi:10.1002/jnr.490230110 · Cited by 34
Effect of Ascorbic Acid on Guinea Pig Adrenal Adenylate Cyclase Activity and Plasma Cortisol
Doulas, N. L., Constantopoulos, A., & Litsios, B. (1987) · Journal of Nutrition · doi:10.1093/jn/117.6.1108 · Cited by 31
Satterlee, D. G., Jones, R. B., & Ryder, F. H. (1993) · Applied Animal Behaviour Science · doi:10.1016/0168-1591(93)90086-5 · Cited by 29
Pierce, R. C., Rowlett, J. K., Rebec, G. V., & Bardo, M. T. (1995) · Brain Research · doi:10.1016/0006-8993(95)00494-b · Cited by 28
Brody, S., Veit, R., & Rau, H. (1996) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/0191-8869(95)00181-6 · Cited by 23
Self-citationGulley, J. M., & Rebec, G. V. (1999) · Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior · doi:10.1016/s0091-3057(98)00249-4 · Cited by 15
Four-Year Test-Retest Reliability of Self-measured Blood Pressure
Brody, S., Veit, R., & Rau, H. (1999) · Archives of Internal Medicine · doi:10.1001/archinte.159.9.1007 · Cited by 12
Self-citationKimelberg, H. K., & Goderie, S. K. (1993) · Brain Research · doi:10.1016/0006-8993(93)90238-i · Cited by 12
Brody, S., Maier, C., Montoya, P., & Rau, H. (1994) · European Journal of Applied Physiology · doi:10.1007/bf00392030 · Cited by 10
Self-citationShin, S. H., Stirling, R. G., Hanna, S., Lim, M., & Wilson, J. X. (1990) · PubMed · Cited by 8
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Kudielka, B. M., Hellhammer, D. H., & Wüst, S. (2009) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2008.10.004 · Cited by 963
Diet and depression: Exploring the biological mechanisms of action
Marx, W., Lane, M., Hockey, M., Aslam, H., Berk, M., Walder, K., Borsini, A., Firth, J., Pariante, C. M., Berding, K., et al. (2021) · Molecular Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/s41380-020-00925-x · Cited by 685
Diet and the Microbiota–Gut–Brain Axis: Sowing the Seeds of Good Mental Health
Berding, K., Vlckova, K., Marx, W., Schellekens, H., Stanton, C., Clarke, G., Jacka, F., Dinan, T. G., & Cryan, J. F. (2021) · Advances in Nutrition · doi:10.1093/advances/nmaa181 · Cited by 451
Kudielka, B. M., & Wüst, S. (2010) · Stress · doi:10.3109/10253890902874913 · Cited by 424
The Relative Health Benefits of Different Sexual Activities
Brody, S. (2010) · The Journal of Sexual Medicine · doi:10.1111/j.1743-6109.2009.01677.x · Cited by 312
Self-citation
Metadata
- Authors
- Brody, S., Preut, R., Schommer, K., & Schürmeyer, T. H.
- Affiliations
- Universität Trier (DE)
- ORCID
- Brody, Stuart
- Venue
- Psychopharmacology
- Published
- 2001-11-20
- Volume
- 159
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 319-324
- ISSN
- 0033-3158 (ISSN-L)
- 1432-2072
- OpenAlex
- W2131218255
- Cited by
- 127
- References
- 44
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 3.03
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Psychopharmacology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Universität Trier
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Vitamin C and Antioxidants Research
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Biochemistry (medical) › Antioxidant Activity and Oxidative Stress
- Keywords
- high-dose ascorbic acid, vitamin C, blood pressure, cortisol, acute psychological stress, stress reactivity, Trier Social Stress Test, plasma ascorbic acid levels, ACTH response, young adults
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Analysis of Variance, Antioxidants, Ascorbic Acid, Blood Pressure, Delayed-Action Preparations, Double-Blind Method, Female, Humans, Hydrocortisone, Male, Stress, Psychological, Chi-Square Distribution
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
