Abstract
Vitamin B_<12> content of human liver tissue resected at Iaparotomy was determined in some abdominal diseases, mainly cancer of the stomach, by the microbiological method using L. leichmannii. The range of the vitamin content of normal human liver was from 0.60 to 0.85μg per g. of wet weight. When liver function tests, especially urine quantitative Millon's reaction and bromsulphalein clearance test, revealed disturbance of liver functions before laparotomy, the vitamin content of liver tissue was decreased in contrast when liver function tests did not show any abnormality. In gastric cancer low vitamin B_<12> level of liver tissue was usually found in markedly advanced cases which were mostly complicated with cancerous peritonitis. The serum vitamin B_<12> level in various diseases examined here was almost within normal range, but in a few cases showing marked disturbances of liver functions and decreased liver vitamin B_<12> level the serum vitamin B_<12> level was high. Severity of morphological damages of mitochondria in liver cells was in good accordance with the degree of disturbance of liver functions and with the extent of decrease of vitamin B_<12> content of liver tissue. These facts were also seen in experimental liver iniury by CCl_4 in rabbits. Although the preventive effect of vitamin B_<12> on the liver injury be CCl_4 was demonstrated in experiments of rabbits, the effective dose of vitamin B_<12> was excessively large.
