Comparative clinical studies on the effect of thiamine and cocarboxylase wereconducted using the Sawada urine test, liver function test (Miyaji's phenol-FeCl₃ test), rise in blood thiamine level, urinary thiamine excretion, transfer of thiamine into erythrocytes, santonin detoxification test and esterification of thiamine following administration of insulin as criteria. The following results were obtained:
1. There was litttle difference in effect between thiamine and cocarboxylase using the three-hour method of the urine test. With the one-hour method, however, cocarboxylase was found to have a superior effect, the difference being fairly significant. With the phenol-FeCl₃ test, cocarboxylase was found to be superior without exception.
2. Under the conditions of this experiment, no difference between thiamine and cocarboxylase was detected in regards to their effect on blood thiamine level and urinary thiamine excretion.
3. There was scarcely any transfer of thiamine or cocarboxylase into erythrocytes in an in vitro experiment.
4. Thiamine had little effect on the detoxification of santonin in rabbits, whereas cocarboxylase as well as thiamine propyl disulfide manifested an intensive beneficial effect.
5. When thiamine is injected in a diabetic patient following insulin injection, there is a rise in the esterified thiamine level in the blood and a decrease in urinary thiamine excretion as compared with the non-loaded experiment.

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1. From our experiments it is assumed that the main pathway of thiamine synthesis is Pm+Th→thiamine.
2. Pm is related to the pyrimidine of nucleic acid.
3. The pathway, cystine (cysteine)→thiazolidine carboxylic acid→Th, is suggested for the biosynthesis of Th.

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Glutamylcholine was administered in 158 cases of hypertension and the results presented below were obtained.
1. There was a marked improvement in subjective symptoms and blood pressure.
2. The capillary resistance which was at an average level of 26mm Hg prior to treatment, showed an average rise of 37mm Hg after treatment.
3. The capillary configuration was examined. Following treatment, there was an acceleration of blood flow and dilation and elongation of the arterial loop.
4. The blood picture showed little change.
5. A slight decrease in viscosity of the serum was noted.
6. There was no worsening in the eyegrounds during the period of treatment.
7. Electrocardiographic examinations showed a large number with left ventricular changes and improvement was observed after treatment. There were no detrimental effects on the cardiac muscle.
8. The pressure which once dropped to normal levels gradually rose again. This took place in the majority of cases in 2-4 weeks.
9. Serum total protein, albumin and protein quotient were reduced and globulin slightly increased but a tendency to recovery appeared after 8 weeks of treatment.
10. The total lipid level of the serum was in the upper limits of normal values and at 4 weeks of treatment, a further rise was apparent, but in 8 weeks a trend toward decrease was seen.
11. Examination of the serum cholesterol showed that the free form was unchanged, whereas the total and esterified were increased, which however decreased following treatment.
12. The serum chlorine content was increased, but in the cases in which GlC was definitely effective, there was a decrease following treatment.
13. Serum sodium level rose, but fell following treatment, especially in cases which responded poorly.
14. The serum potassium level rose, but fell following treatment and the calcium which was reduced, increased after treatment.
15. Serum cholinesterase was increased, but following the administration of GlC, returned to normal levels.

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The chief pharmacological action of FAD is due to the AMP moiety, the action of which is intensified and lasts long by linkage with FMN.

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Studies on the SF's of horsetails revealed the existence of substances A and B and many fluorescent substances. Substance A was isolated as yellow crystals, which was disignated by the author as articulatin. Hydrolysis of articulatin gave the substance B, which was named by the author articulatidin. Analyses showed articulatin to be a glycoside of articulatidin having the structure of pentahydroxyanthraquinone-glucoside. It was proved to have a strong thiamine-decomposing activity. It is clarified that a part of the SF's of horsetails is articulatin and articulatidin, whereas no flavonoid is detected in horsetails.
Flavonoids (1, 2), phenols (5, 1) and tannins (8) have thus far been known as SF's of plants, but it has now been clarified by the present study that hydroxyanthraquinones which occur widely in animals, plants and microorganisms, belong also to SF's. Notwithstanding the fact the thiamine-decomposing activity of alizarin having o-dihydroxy structure is quite low compared with that of flavonoids having o-dihydroxy structure, both articulatin and articulatidin show a very strong thiamine-decomposing activity, possibly due to the special arrangement of OH radicals.

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1. A remarkable increase in urinary riboflavin and niacin was observed following an overdosage of thiamine or TAD to rabbits.
2. In this activity TAD was definitely greater than thiamine. In the former case the urinary excretion of riboflavin and niacin increased markedly followed by a pronounced decrease.
3. Following injections of 10mg/kg thiamine, the urinary excretion of riboflavin and pyridoxine was decreased, but following injections of 50mg/kg thiamine, the urinary excretion of both vitamins mentioned above rose at first, but fell distinctly.
4. The change in the urinary excretion of riboflavin parallelled roughly that of pyridoxine.
5. Following successive injections of 10.5mg/kg TAD, the urinary excretion of riboflavin and pyridoxine fell gradually.
6. Following successive injections of 52.5mg/kg TAD, the urinary excretion of riboflavin and pyridoxine showed a remarkable initial rise followed by a pronounced fall.

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1. Using Atkin-Schultz-Frey's microbiological assay for thiamine based on the accelerating effect of thiamine on yeast fermentation, the effect of thiamine and of 24 derivatives on anaerobic decarboxylation was examined.
2. This method can be applied as a biological test of thiamine derivatives, if it is taken into consideration that the action on yeast is not always in agreement with that on animals.
3. Following thiamine derivatives were examined; (a) S, S-alkyl derivatives show the accelerating effect as much as, or a little more than, thiamine. (b) Of O, S-diacyl thiamines, O, S-diacetyl thiamine is as active as thiamine and the effects of other compounds appeared in the following decreasing order.
O, S-Diacetyl>dipropionyl>S-propionyl-O-benzoyl>dibenzoyl. Once the effects have appeared, they were all as active as thiamine. (c) O-Acyl derivatives were somewhat inferior to thiamine. (d) S-Alkyl derivatives have generally little activity, if any. (e) Thiothiamines have no activity. (f) As antivitamins, hydroxythiamine, butylthiamine and heteropyrithiamine were examined, of which hydroxythiamine alone showed a slight antithiamine activity.
4. As for the mechanism of accelerating effect, the relation to nirogen metabolism is important, and the effect of nitrogen sources, increase in nitrogen in cells and promotion of budding were observed. Further, participation of metal ions and the permeability of cell membrane were observed.

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Purification methods of the reagents used in the Bessey method for vitamin A were improved and simplified. The optical density at 328mμ of kerosenexylene mixture alone was found to rise under the condition of photolysis which makes the correction due to the change in a blank test necessary to determine vitamin A. Under these conditions, vitamin A ester behaves similary to vitamin A alcohol, indicating practically complete saponification of the ester.
The values for human serum vitamin A determined by this method were in good agreement with those determined by a micro-GDH-method described in this paper.
Carotene is photolyzed under the condition but the effect is insignificant for vitamin A determination. The effect of carotene on GDH method is likewise insignificant usually.

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