X. EFFECTS OF DEFICIENCY 269 



torn to iioiiniil/-' riu'sc li\(Ms show ;i lower viiiv ot cvslutlnoniiK' cleavage 

 tluiii normal spcciiiKMis. '•'•'• '■''' 'i'iic cvstciiu' (h'suHliydrasc coiitcnt of lixcr 

 extracts of pyiidoxiiu'-tlclicieMt lats fed a hiji;li jjiolcin diet is lower than 

 that ohtaiinnl from a iioiinal rat."' Phis decrease* in desulfhydra.se concen- 

 tration takes place a few days before many of the other si<i;ns of lif, a\ita- 

 niinosis occur. Homogenized kidney from vitamin Bc-deficient rats had 

 only one-tliird the D-amino a(-id oxidase activity of normal kidney.^^ A 

 supplemtMit of D-amino acids decreased nitrogen utilization by vitamin 

 1^6-deticient animals; L-amino acids had no eil'ect. Pyridoxine-deficient rats 

 gained less water and protein than did rats receiving a complete diet.''*' 



A vitamin Be deficiency causes abnormal fat metabolism.""' The carcasses 

 of pyridoxine-deficient rats contain less fat, and of a higher degree of unsatura- 

 tion, than the carcasses of normal rats; they also have a higher percentage 

 of arachidonic acid.^^ The low^ linoleic acid content of carcass fat of pyri- 

 doxine-deficient rats is not a specific characteristic of the deficiencj^ for 

 caloric and thiamine deficiencies produce similar changes.*" It has been 

 demonstrated that vitamin Be is essential for the conversion of protein 

 to fat.*' The rate of absorption of lipids from the intestine does not appear 

 to be affected by the deficiency.*-- *' The livers of pyridoxine-deficient rats, 

 however, ha\'e more fat than those of normal rats.*'- *^"*^ There is a de- 

 crease in the rate of oxidation of short-chained fatty acids by liver slices 

 from pyridoxine-deficient rats.*- 



Severe \'itamin Be deficiency depressed the basal metabolic rate and 

 increased the respiratory cjuotient of rats.*^ Riboflavin deficiency had no 

 effect on the basal metabolic rate. Vitamin Be deficiency increases the 



" A. E. Braushtein and E. V. Gor^-acheiikova, Doklady Akad. Nauk S.S.S.R. 74, 



529 (1950). 

 "» E. V. Goryachenkova, Doklady Akad. .\aick S.S.S.R. 85, G03 (1952). 

 «b F. Binkley, G. M. Christensen and W. X. Jensen, J. Biol. Chem. 194, 109 (1952). 

 ^« A. E. Braushtein and R. M. Azarkh, Doklady Akad. Nauk S.S.S.R. 71, 93 (1950). 

 " K. L. Armstrong, C. Feldott, and H. A. Lardy, Proc. Soc. Exptl. Biol. Med. 73, 



159 (1950). 

 « L. Voris and H. P. Moore, J. Nutrition 25, 7 (1943). 

 *^ H. Sherman, Vitamins and Hormones 8, 55 (1951). 

 *" G. Medes, M. V. Mann, and J. B. Hunter, Arch. Biochem. and Biophy.'i. 32, 70 



(1951). 

 »' E. W. McHenry and G. Gavin, J. Biol. Chem. 138, 471 (1941). 

 »2 G. Peretti, Boll. soc. Hal. hiol. sper. 17, 326 (1942). 

 " C. W. Carter and P. J. R. Phizackerley, Biochem. J. 49, 227 (1951). 

 '=•' N. Halliday, J. Nutrition 16, 285 (1938). 

 " R. W. Engel, J. Nutrition 24, 175 (1941). 



*6 P. G. Tulpule and V. N. Patwardhan, Indian J. Med. Research 38, 3 (1950). 

 *' D. Orsini, II. .\. Waisman, and C. A. Elvehjem, Pror. Soc. Exptl. Biol. Med. 51, 



99 (1942j. 



