258 PYRIDOXINE AND RELATED COMPOUNDS 



such figures represent the sum of the pjaidoxine, pyridoxal, and pyri- 

 doxamine contents. 



In Table IV, results of the only study so far made to determine the dis- 

 tribution of the individual forms of the vitamin are recorded. The values 

 for pyridoxine, which usually occurs in the smallest amount, are subject 

 to by far the largest error. The fallacy in referring to the "pyridoxme" 

 content of foodstuffs, rather than to their vitamin Be content, is evident 

 from this table. 



These data show that vitamin Be is widely distributed, and much more 

 uniformly so than most of the other vitamins. Muscle meats, liver, vege- 

 tables, w^hole grain cereals, and especially the bran from cereal grains are 

 among the best sources; few materials can be classed as really poor sources. 

 This wide distribution undoubtedly is a reflection of the important and 

 multiple roles played by the vitamin in anabolic and catabolic reactions 

 of the amino acids and proteins and probably explains the fact that natu- 

 rally occurring deficiency diseases due to lack of this vitamin have not so 

 far been found. 



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