A deficiency in the essential nutrient thiamine resulting from chronic alcohol consumption is one factor underlying alcohol-induced brain damage. Thiamine is a helper molecule (i.e., a cofactor) required by three enzymes involved in two pathways of carbohydrate metabolism. Because intermediate products of these pathways are needed for the generation of other essential molecules in the cells (e....

Thiamine state was investigated in patients with alcoholic liver disease, patients with various non-alcoholic liver diseases, and controls using a direct technique (thiochrome assay) to measure thiamine, thiamine monophospate, and the active coenzyme thiamine pyrophosphate in whole blood after isolating the fractions by ion exchange chromatography. Overall nutrition was similar in all groups as...

BACKGROUND Infantile beriberi (thiamine deficiency) occurs mainly in infants breastfed by mothers with inadequate intake of thiamine, typically among vulnerable populations. We describe possible and probable cases of infantile thiamine deficiency in northern Laos. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Three surveys were conducted in Luang Namtha Province. First, we performed a retrospective survey o...

The effect of kinetin on the de novo formation of thiamine in tobacco callus cultures was measured by following the isotope dilution of previously introduced (14)C-thiamine. Thiamine was determined by the thiochrome fluorescence assay after chromatographic purification. Morphological effects induced by high kinetin concentrations were visible within a week after tissue transfer, but thiamine sy...

Thiamine is a vitamin whose deficient can result in multiorgan symptoms. We described an 18% prevalence of clinical thiamine deficiency after gastric bypass surgery. Our hypotheses are that individuals with medically complicated obesity frequently have clinical thiamine deficiency and that diabetes mellitus is a mechanism for development of clinical thiamine deficiency. This is a single institu...

It was reported in the previous paper that thiamine and O-benzoylthiamine (OBT) reacted with iodine-oxidized egg albumin resulting in formation of protein thiamine mixed disulfide (1). The formation of protein-bound thiamine is de pendent on the pH of the reaction mixture and the amount of bound thiamine was much greater at pH 9.0 than at pH 7.3 possibly due to the difference of the amount of t...

It has been shown in the previous paper (1) that S-benzoyl derivatives of thiamine, e. g., S-benzoylthiamine O-monophosphate (BTP) and S-benzoylthiamine (SBT), have seemingly thiamine activity on Lactobacillus ferinenti, but they are not active per se; it is due to the production of thiamine-active compounds by de-S-benzoyla tion. It seems to be of interest to clarify the mechanism of debenzoyl...

The requirements of thiamine in adult ruminants are mainly met by ruminal bacterial synthesis, and thiamine deficiencies will occur when dairy cows overfed with high grain diet. However, there is limited knowledge with regard to the ruminal thiamine synthesis bacteria, and whether thiamine deficiency is related to the altered bacterial community by high grain diet is still unclear. To explore t...

AIMS To assess the effect of mandatory thiamine enrichment of wheat flour on blood thiamine levels in an alcohol-dependent population. METHODS Alcohol-dependent clients (n = 100) entering an inpatient service for the management of alcohol withdrawal had thiamine blood tests and diet interviews. Approximately half (n = 46) the alcohol-dependent participants reported taking vitamin supplements ...

The relationship between supplemental thiamine and Wilson’s disease has been the focus of recent investigation; and supplemental thiamine has been reported to modulate Wilson’s disease. Genetic studies have helped identify a number of factors that link thiamine to Wilson’s disease, including transcription factor p53, Bcl-2, caspase-2, heme oxygenase-1, and apolipo protein E. Thiamine has also b...