“ALLITHIAMINE” A NEWLY FOUND DERIVATIVE OF VITAMIN B₁

I. DISCOVERY OF ALLITHIAMINE

Abstract

We have found the fact that when we let an extract of plants of allium species, e. g. garlic, react with thiamine, thiamine turns to a hitherto unknown compound which was negative to thiochrome reaction in vitro, but acted as thiamine in vivo. We have succeeded in isolating this compound and designated it as allithiamine.
Allithiamine has the structure of thiamine allyl disulfide and forms as the resultant compound when allicin reacts with thiamine.
Allithiamine simulates thiamine-disulfide in its biochemical properties, but behaves in a different way from generally accepted behaviors of thiamine or its homologues in that it is highly soluble in organic solvent.
Necessary conditions for quantitative determination of allithiamine have been discussed.
The authors wish to thank Dr. U. Miura, Kyoto University for encouragement druing the course of this investigation. The experiments were aided by a grant from the Ministry of Education.