Blood sampling
BLOOD
Blood samples were collected into ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) tubes at baseline, 1, 4 and 6 h after commencement of the infusion for the measurement of inflammatory markers and vitamin C. Blood was centrifuged immediately for 10 min (3000 rpm) with plasma then stored in Eppendorf tubes at − 80 °C. An additional 300 µL of plasma was immediately added to a solution containing 1.2 mL of MeOH/H2O (90:10, v/v) and 313 µM diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DETAPAC). The mixture was then centrifuged for 10 min at 8000 rpm and resultant supernatant was stored at − 80 °C. This facilitated the deproteination and chelation of metals in the plasma samples, which would otherwise interfere with measurement of ascorbate levels.