Four groups of twenty growing Wistar rats were irradiated with either UV, IR , UV+IR light or were not irradiated (control). Ten rats from each group received a diet supplemented with 0.6% of L-ascorbic acid. The effects of the mega-dose of vitamin C were evaluated by changes in the antioxidative/oxidative status. UV and IR radiation promoted oxidative DNA degradation in rat livers and supplementation with ascorbic acid strengthened the prooxidative effects on DNA oxidation in rats irradiated

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... th UV or IR light. Vitamin C also increased the tiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) concentration in rats from all groups except UV+IR-irradiated. The combined UV+IR light, corresponding to solar radiation, had no negative effects on redox homeostasis in rats. Furthermore, L-ascorbic acid showed antioxidative properties by increasing the concentration of Total Antioxidative State (TAS) in plasma, hence decreasing the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in UV+IR irradiated rats.