Abstract
The authors measured the thiamine and riboflavin concentrations in the maternal blood, chorion and fetus of healthy women in the early stage of pregnancy (2 to 3 months), and simultaneously observed the effects of oral administrations of thiamine hydrochloride and thiamine propyl disulfide (each totalled 75 mg for 5 days) upon the respective concentrations in these materials. The results are as follows : The total thiamine content in the maternal blood in the early stage of pregnancy was relatively low, indicating that many pregnant women were thiamine-deficient. Thiamine in the chorion was mostly in ester form, but that in the fetus was relatively rich in free form. The thiamine concentration in the chorion and fetus was increased by administrations of thiamine hydrochloride and thiamine propyl disulfide, but that in the maternal blood did so by thiamine propyl disulfide administration alone. The increase in the thiamine concentration in the chorion was greater in the administration of thiamine propyl disulfide than in thiamine hydrochloride. In the increasing state of the thiamine concentration in each material owing to thiamine hydrochloride and thiamine propyl disulfide administrations, a positive correlation was recognized only between the chorion and the fetus. The administrations of thiamine preparations did not have any effect on the riboflavin concentration in each material. Based upon the above-described findings, the authors assume that the administrations of thiamine hydrochloride and thiamine propyl disulfide are beneficial to the mother and fetus.
