Vitamin B1 therapy with 'Betaxan' / Bayer Products Limited.

  • Bayer Products Limited.
Date:
[1938]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Vitamin B1 therapy with 'Betaxan' / Bayer Products Limited. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    FUNCTIONS OF VITAMIN Bi Vitamin B 1 is known to be necessary for the maintenance of life and to prevent and cure the characteristic manifestations of beri- beri. It has been found that it plays an essential part in the processes of tissue oxidation and carbohydrate metabolism. (Peters;arg30). According to Lohmann’s work, Vitamin B 1 has an important role in the intermediate stage of break-down of the ketonic acids, especially pyruvic acid. ‘This is demonstrated by the fact that the pyrophosphoric acid ester of Vitamin B 1 is identical with co-carboxylase, which is an important catalyst in metabolism. Should the vitamin be lacking, the process is arrested at the stage of the production of pyruvic acid. This mechanism may be represented diagrammatically :— Vitamin B et | —. coast ne is seam na fad NASER ES ,|Complete Oxidation] Lactic Acid ——>|Pyruvic Acid| : Recent experimental observations on human beings have lent strong confirmation to this view. Analyses of the blood of patients suffering from severe beri-beri showed a great increase in the level of lactic acid and pyruvate in the blood. (Platt and Dus oO OMetealias)s According to Peters, anomalies of carbohydrate metabolism, particularly in the nervous system, lead to impairment of function of the neurones of the subcortical centres with consequent disorder of the temperature regulating mechanism and disorder of tissue- metabolism. * In the form of pyrophosphoric acid ester. E22
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