Tobacco and nicotine use during pregnancy have well-documented deleterious effects, including increased rates of premature births, miscarriages, and sudden infant death syndrome, but about 50% of smokers continue to smoke after becoming pregnant. Nicotine accumulates in the fetus and causes oxidative stress, a phenomenon in which reactive oxygen species build up and cause damage to cells. Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is a powerful antioxidant and an essential vitamin in humans. At low concentrations, vitamin C oxidizes, neutralizing the free radicals that nicotine produces. Ascorbic acid has been proposed as a method to counteract the effects of developmental nicotine exposure (DNE), and small studies have had promising results in preventing some effects of DNE. However, the small sample sizes of these studies were insufficient to assess ascorbic acide effects on fetal death or developmental time with DNE.

In order to determine the effect of ascorbic acid on Drosophila developing with DNE, I observed the survival rate and median development time of Drosophila developing on media laced with nicotine (0.8 mm) and ascorbic acid (1 mM or 10 mM) and compared the results to control groups in which Drosophila developed on media containing only nicotine, only ascorbic acid, and media lacking additives. I hypothesized that ascorbic acid would increase the survival rate and decrease the development time of Drosophila with DNE.

Ascorbic acid insignificantly increased the survival rate and decreased the median development time of Drosophila with and without developmental nicotine exposure. Compared with larva developing without nicotine or ascorbic acid, nicotine insignificantly decreased the survival rate and increased the development time of Drosophila. These results provide promising evidence that developmental ascorbic acid supplementation is helpful in Drosophila, and possibly human, development, but more studies are needed. Based on the safety of vitamin C, supplementation of vitamin C during pregnancy is advisable, and could eliminate the risks of vitamin C deficiencies.

Future studies will use a higher concentration of nicotine in order to further decrease the survival rate and increase the development time of Drosophila compared to control groups developing without nicotine. The effects of ascorbic acid will likely be more pronounced if nicotine is present at a higher concentration. Additional trials with a larger number of Drosophila will also help to conclusively determine if ascorbic acid has an impact on developing Drosophila with developmental nicotine exposure.