ANEURINE (thiamine) 



falling to 9*3 ^g. per loo ml. at weaning. This was confirmed by 

 Roderuck et al.,^^ who obtained low aneurine values for the first few 

 days after parturition, and rapidly increasing amounts during the first 

 few weeks, rising to a maximum value of 14-0 to 147 /ag. per day. 

 The diet was the principal factor in determining the concentration in 

 the milk. 



Intramuscular injection of aneurine during labour, or oral ad- 

 ministration after parturition, accelerated the increase in the milk 

 aneurine during lactation. 



Aneurine Content of Tissues 



Aneurine is fairly uniformly distributed throughout the tissues of 

 the hmnan body. Brain, liver and kidney contain approximately ^® 

 I /xg. per g., heart muscle 2 to 3 /xg. per g., and skeletal muscle 

 0-5 jLtg. : higher values are obtained immediately after administration 

 of aneurine. Unlike other tissues, the brain maintained its vitamin 

 Bi content in face of a deficit of the vitamin for a considerable time.^^° 



Westenbrink et al.^'^ studied the distribution of aneurine pyro- 

 phosphate in the tissues of man and of the rat, pig, duck, chick, pigeon, 

 goose, blackheaded gull and frog. Compared with other animals, 

 the amounts present in human liver and kidney were low and the 

 amount in the heart muscle was high. In most animals, with the 

 exception of the pig, little difference was found in the amounts present 

 in the liver, kidney and heart muscle. In general, the spleen, adrenals, 

 pancreas, thymus and sex organs contained less than the liver, kidney 

 and heart, though rat testicles contained an exceptionally large 

 amount. Except in the pig, lung tissue had only a low aneurine 

 content. The amount present in the nervous system was low, both 

 in man and the pig. Pig skeletal muscle contained an exceptionally 

 large amount of aneurine pyrophosphate, and there was a marked 

 difference between the amounts present in skeletal and in smooth 

 muscle. 



According to B. Alexander,^^ most of the aneurine in animal tissue 

 is present as pyrophosphate. 



The concentration of aneurine in the skeletal muscle of infants 

 increases somewhat with age. A value of 20 /xg. per 100 g. was 

 recorded for a premature foetus, somewhat higher values for a full- 

 term foetus and a value of 147 /xg. per 100 g. for a seven-year old 

 child. 5® More aneurine was present in the combined than in the free 

 state ; for example, foetal organs from the third to the ninth month 

 of pregnancy contained 3 to 7 /xg. per 100 g. of free aneurine, and 20 

 to 50 /Ltg. per 100 g. of total aneurine. ^^ The concentration was highest 

 in muscular organs. 



72 



