Abstract
Since we have confirmed the finding of Kawasaki et al. that some disulfidetype thiamine derivatives are reduced to thiazole type-thiamines by the incubation with Bacillus thiaminolyticus and decomposed subsequently with thiaminase, the effect of the microorganisms on the gastrointestinal absorption of thiamine-HCl and O-benzoylthiamine disulfide (BTDS) has been investigated. When the microorganisms are given to the albino rats for a week prior to an administration of thiamine-HCl, there is a significant decrease in urinary and fecal recovery of thiamine. On the other hand, a significant decrease in the urinary recovery is not observed when BTDS is given to the animals with the microorganisms, indicating that the absorption of BTDS, one of the lipophillic and easily absorbable thiamine derivatives, is hardly influenced by the presence of the microorganisms in digestive tract. In addition, it is found that the decrease in the absorption of thiamine-HCl seems to be restored by the administration of Lactobacillus spores.
