VITAMIN B (Bi) 75 



described, to decide whether or not vitamin B maintains the desire to 

 eat simply by aiding in the preservation of the normal gastric tone. 

 The marked systemic manifestations characteristic of advanced cases 

 of vitamin B deficiency suggest that the loss of the desire to eat in such 

 cases is due as much to a generalized systemic disturbance as it is to an 

 abnormal condition localized in the alimentary canal." 



An editorial comment in the Journal of the American Medical Asso- 

 ciation (1926) on this paper v^^as: "The demonstration of gastric atony 

 as a part of the syndrome characteristic of an advanced stage of de- 

 ficiency disease in which lack of vitamin B is concerned is in harmony 

 with clinical observations on patients with beriberi. The list of disorders 

 attended with gastric atony is a long one, including high fever, para- 

 thyroid tetany, acute gastritis, pneumonia, and general peritonitis. It 

 is also now demonstrated to characterize prolonged subsistence on a 

 diet poor in vitamin B. The suggestion has been made, therefore, that 

 the dietary factor should never be overlooked where gastric atony is 

 known to occur." 



Relations to Metabolism. — McCollum, Simmonds and Pitz (1916c) 

 concluded from the results of their rat-feeding experiments, as had 

 Andrews (1912) in his study of human beriberi, that vitamin B passes 

 into the milk only about in proportion as it is supplied by the food of 

 the mother. 



Drummond (1918) found the food consumption of rats fed upon 

 a diet deficient in vitamin B to be low. The addition to the diet of 

 commercial meat extract, which is deficient in vitamin B, or of extracts 

 containing vitamin B brought about increased food consumption, but 

 growth took place only when the extract contained vitamin B and the 

 extent of growth was, within certain limits, proportional to the amount 

 of vitamin B added. The length of time that an animal is able to main- 

 tain itself on a diet deficient in vitamin B without sufifering serious 

 loss in body weight appeared to be directly proportional to the age at 

 which the restriction is imposed. A restriction in the supply of vitamin 

 B in the diet of a pregnant rat was shown to be followed by serious 

 consequences both to herself and her oflfspring. "This was particularly 

 marked when the restriction was imposed before parturition. When 

 imposed at or after delivery, the young usually lived and in some cases 

 even showed a subnormal rate of growth for a short period but the 

 fatal decline was not long in appearing. By returning the mother to a 

 normal diet the young could be saved, although the improvement in 

 them was not immediately appreciable." Actively growing tissues 

 (embryos, tumors, etc.) did not contain appreciable amounts of vitamin 



