The anticonvulsive and stimulation suppressing action of β-hydroxy-γ-aminobutyric acid was examined and it was found that it possessed a marked convulsion suppressing action against centrally acting agents as cardiazol, camphor, procaine hydrochloride and procaine penicillin in oil. No action however, was noted against strychnine. A marked depressive action was also noted against stimulating agents of the amphetamine series as Philopon (β-phenylisopropylmethylamine) and Zedrin (β-phenylisopropylamine). It is suggested that β-hydroxy-γ-aminobutyric acid has a physiological depressing action in the brain towards convulsions and excited states.

View full abstract

Using pure crystal of rutinothiamine, growth test was performed with albino rats, and the result was compared with that of thiamine and thiamine propyl disulfide. The test for 36 days showed that rutinothiamine had an equal potency to thiamine.

View full abstract

Vitamin B_<12> content of liver in patients with chronic hepatic diseases, including cirrhosis of the liver, Banti's syndrome and hepatoma, etc. was determined by microbiological assay. The liver tissue tested was obtained at laparotomy from the patients with or without a parenteral administration of various amounts of vitamin B_<12>. The average vitamin B_<12> values obtained were 0.19 and 0.25 μg/g on a wet basis in cirrhosis, 0.53 and 0.58 μg/g in Banti's syndrome, with and without the administration of vitamin B_<12> respectively, and 0.13 μg/g in hepatoma without the administration. The liver vitamin B_<12> content in cirrhosis and hepatoma was much lower than that of normal liver tissue, 0.74 μg/g. In most cases of cirrhosis an increase of liver vitamin B_<12> content was not observed even after parenteral vitamin B_<12> administration. Liver vitamin B_<12> content in cirrhosis and Banti's syndrome decreased remarkably after the operation of porta-caval anastomosis. This decrease seemed to occur within two weeks after the operation. The higher vitamin B_<12> content of liver tissue before the operation was, the higher the decrease seemed to be.

View full abstract

A reaction product thiamine and rutin, rutinothiamine (RT), and that of thiamine and pyrocatechol, cetechothiamine (CT), have hitherto been isolated in pure crystalline forms, and were shown to have similar chemical properties. The absorbability of both RT and CT from human intestine was tested by giving to a healthy adult maintained on a diet strictly constant in composition, and was compared with that of both thiamine and thiamine propyl disulfide (TPD). Each material was given orally once in the morning (8.00 a.m.) with the interval of 2-3 days and the urinary and fecal excretion of the vitamin in 24 hours as well as the vitamin level in blood at 10 a.m. were determined every day. The absorbability of both CT and RT was found to be better than thiamine but poorer than TPD. Penetration into human blood cells was also tested in vitro, and CT and RT were found to enter the cells in small amounts but thiamine failed to enter. On the contrary, thiamine propyldisultide was found to penetrate into the cells markedly. The above findings have led to the assumption that CT and RT are the same substance or the substances very similar both in chemical and biological properties.

View full abstract

W.Yonezawa and K.Nishio have reported a new thiaminase carrying Candida isolated from the oral cavity. The author compared this new Candida with 16 species (25 strains) belonging to the genus Candida including 5 strains of Candida parapsilosis, and found that Y・N strain can be discriminated from Candida parapsilosis from the view points of morphology, physiology, nutritional requirement and the property of producing highly active thiaminase. It was led to the conclusion that the fungus was a new species, closely related to, but different in some respects, from Candida parapsilosis and the thiaminase of low activity was widely distributed in the genus Candida.

View full abstract

The authors found that Takadiastase contained an esterase which was capable to hydrolyse dibenzoylthiamine with a comparatively high potency. So an attempt was made to establish a method for determination of the total thiamine in foodstuffs, enriched with dibenzoylthiamine, by pretreating with Takadiastase. Some fundametal investigations were made and the following results were obtained : (1) The hydrolyzed product was recognized as thiamine by the paper partition chromatography (n-butanol・acetic acid・water=4 : 1 : 5). (2) At the optimum conditions (pH 5.5,37-50℃, Takadiastase concentration 0.5%), dibenzoylthiamine was quantitatively hydrolyzed in ten hours and could be determined by the thiochrome method with a nearly 100 per cent recovery.

View full abstract