VITAMIN B (B^) 91 



Croll and Mendel (1925) to be located in the embryo. The endosperm 

 contains hardly a measurable amount of vitamin B and the bran very 

 little. Two varieties, one yellow and one white, contained about the 

 same amount of vitamin B, from 20 to 30 per cent of the ration being 

 necessary for normal growth. The content of vitamin B in commer- 

 cial milling products of corn used for human and animal food de- 

 pends largely on the relative amounts of the embryo left in the frac- 

 tion by the milling process. Whole corn, corn germs, corn germ meal, 

 gluten feed, hominy feed, and whole ground corn meal were found 

 to contain considerable amounts of vitamin B. Corn products consisting 

 largely of endosperm or hulls, such as degerminated corn meal, corn 

 flour, crude and refined corn oils, cornstarch, grits, gluten hulls, steep 

 water, and corn flakes were deficient in this vitamin. 



Whole unpolished "brown" rice and both the endosperm and 

 embryo ends of the unpolished rice kernel (separated by hand dis- 

 section) were found by Croll (IlHnois Agricultural Experiment Sta- 

 tion, Annual Report, 1927) to contain vitamin B, the embryo end being 

 richer than the endosperm end. Since the outer bran coats are retained 

 in the unpolished rice kernel, the presence of vitamin B in the endo- 

 sperm end may be due to its presence in bran rather than in the endo- 

 sperm itself. Pure white polished rice is very deficient in vitamin B. 

 Rice polishings, long known to be a very rich source of the antineuritic 

 factor (vitamin B) have been shown by Munsell (1929) to be rela- 

 tively poor as a source of vitamin G. 



With all three of these cereals (wheat, maize, rice) the use of 

 the highly milled products in preference to the whole grain will 

 markedly decrease the vitamin B content of the diet. In commenting 

 on this, particularly as applied to whole wheat vs. patent flour, Osborne 

 and Mendel (1919a) state: "So long as the diet of man is sufficiently 

 varied to include enough vitamin from sources other than the cereals 

 the milling question need not awaken much concern from the vitamin 

 standpoint ; but when the diet is restricted the danger of a shortage 

 of vitamin may become real if a large proportion of sugar, fat, or 

 other products, low in their content of water-soluble vitamin, are 

 included in the diet." Since this is often the case and since we now 

 have reason to believe that an intake of vitamins much more abundant 

 than is absolutely necessary is often advantageous, we believe that 

 the use of whole grain in preference to highly milled products should 

 be encouraged, except in those cases in which there is reason to fear 

 that the "roughage" of the whole-grain product is unduly irritating 

 to the individual digestive tract. 



