DIGESTION, ETC. OP PAT-SOLUBLE VITAMINS 329 



be corrected by the oral administration of vitamin K. However, this 

 was accomplished efficiently only if bile or bile salts were administered 

 concomitantly. Quick 522 suggested the same relationship between bile 

 salts, prothrombin, and vitamin K. 



Desoxycholic acid is believed to be the bile component responsible for 

 bringing about the absorption of vitamin K from the gastrointestinal 

 tract. 523 Almquist and Klose 524 prepared a vitamin K-choleic acid com- 

 plex which was effective in curing vitamin K deficiency in bile-fistula 

 rats. 625 Dam and co-workers 526 reported that a crude vitamin K-desoxy- 

 cholic acid complex in aqueous solution was effective in curing vitamin K 

 deficiency in chicks when given subcutaneously, while a water emulsion 

 of the crude vitamin was efficacious when given intramuscularly, but not 

 when injected subcutaneously. 



Although bile contains no appreciable quantity of vitamin K, 527,528 

 the feeding of bile alone has been shown to effect an increased prothrombin 

 level in the case of animals with ligated bile ducts. 5 18,521,528 - 529 Presumably 

 this results from facilitation of the absorption of the vitamin K in food 

 and of that synthesized by the bacteria in the intestine. 



It has also been recognized for a long time that bile is required for the 

 absorption of vitamin K in man. It was reported by Quick and co- 

 workers 530 that low prothrombin levels obtain in obstructive jaundice. 

 Brinkhous, Smith, and Warner, 531 ' 532 and Snell and collaborators, 533 

 demonstrated that the hemorrhagic tendency in cases of obstructive 

 jaundice could be overcome if vitamin K was administered with bile or 

 bile salts. However, water-soluble vitamin K substitutes can apparently 

 be absorbed from the intestine without the presence of bile salts. 534 The 



622 A. J. Quick, Am. J. Physiol, 118, 260-271 (1937). 



523 C. L. A. Schmidt, Pacific Coast Med., 5, 7-10 (1038). 



524 H. J. Almquist and A. A. Klose, ./. Am. Chem. Soc, 61, 745-746 (1939). 



525 E. T. Cohn and C. I,. A. Schmidt, Proc. Soc. Exptl. Biol. Med., 41, 443-444 (1939). 



526 H. Dam, J. Glavind, L. Lewis, and E. Tage-Hansen, Skand. Arch. Physiol, 79, 

 121-133 (1938). 



527 H. J. Almquist, Science, 87, 538 (1938). 



528 J. D. Greaves, Am. J. Physiol, 125, 429-436 (1939). 



529 J. D. Greaves, Am. J. Physiol, 125, 423-428 (1939). 



530 A. J. Quick, J. M. Stanlev-Brown, and F. W. Bancroft, Am. J. Med. Set, 190, 501- 

 511 (1935). 



531 K. M. Brinkhous, H. P. Smith, and E. D. Warner, Am. J. Med. Sci., 196, 50-57 

 (1938). 



532 E. D. Warner, K. M. Brinkhous, and H. P. Smith, Proc. Soc. Exptl Biol Med., 37, 

 628-630(1938). 



533 A. M. Snell, T. B. Magath, E. W. Boland, A. E. Osterberg, H. R. Butt, J. L. 

 Bollman, and W. Walters, Proc. Staff Meetings Mayo Clin., IS, 65-80 (1938). 



534 E. D. Warner and J. D. Flynn, Proc. Soc Exptl Biol. Med., 44, 607-608 (1940). 



