Effects of vitamin A on Wistar-strain pregnant rats : Marked disturbances in fertility and fetal vitality were induced by excess and deficiency of vitamin A. No significant difference in number of implantation and body weight of fetuses could be demonstrated in any doses of vitamin A. Twenty I.U. of vitamin A administration per day might be necessary to succeed the pregnancy. Histological changes of placenta, anterior hypophysis, adrenal cortex and ovary in pregnant rats in vitamin A deficiency : In early gestation, underdevelopment was found in placenta. During 14 to 16th day of gestation, degenerative changes and hemorrhage appeared in decidua basalis and giant-cell layer, and extended into labyrinth. Gestational changes in anterior hypophysis and adrenal cortex of vitamin A deficient rats were slight and retarded in comparison with normal ones. In ovary, an increase of primordial and small follicles in number was observed. Growth of corpus luteum gravidarum was retarded by vitamin A deficiency.

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The usefulness of the direct method for thiamine assay in the bacterial thiaminase test has been examnied and a simplification of its technical system has been developed. Culture media and other conditions which are used for the bacterial thiaminase test have been investigated using direct and simple methods. The latter employed by the authors is a method which abridged the butanol-extracting technique of the direct method. The results obtained by the direct method in the assay of the thiamine consistency series showed slight blind fluorescence and lineal relationship between quantity of thiochrome and reading of galvanometer. The results obtained by the simple method showed the presence of some tolerable blind fluorescence, but the lineal relationship between quantity of thiochrome and the reading of galvanometer was still maintained. Thus, the direct method and the simple method of thiamine assay were considered to be useful in making the bacterial thiaminase test.

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Two photolytic products of vitamin K_1,which had the same Rf values (0.36) on a thinlayer of Kiesel gel G using chloloform as solvent system but had different Rf values in a n-butyl ether・petroleum ether system, were isolated from the degradation products by chromatographic techniques. These substances were elucidated as 2-methyl-3-(3', 7', 11', 15'-tetramethyl-1'-hexadecenyl)-1,4-naphthoquinone-hydroperoxide-(3') and 2-methyl-3-(3', 7', 11', 15'-tetramethyl-1'-hexadecenyl)-1,4-naphthoquinone-hydroxide-(3').

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In order to establish the method of the determination of vitamins A and E in the presence of each other, the procedure of hydrogenation of vitamin A described in USP XVII was re-examined. Hydrogenation of vitamin A with 5% Pd-CaCO_3 as catalyser was proceeded smoothly under atmospheric pressure at room temperature. Pd-CaCO_3 was prepared by the procedure of M. Busch with a slight modification. Mixed samples of vitamins A and E were assayed using the hydrogenation method to avoid interference from each vitamins. This method gave quantitative recovery of vitamins A and E.

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Desthiothiamine was assumed to be a keto-compound (I), corresponding to the thioketoform of thiamine (II), because both desthiothiamine and thiamine can be converted to the oxime (III) by the reaction with hydroxylamine or to imidazolethiamine (IV) by the reaction with ammonia. (I) was shown to be inhibitory to the growth of Lactobacillus fermenti 36 and Kloeckera apiculata. The inhibition by (I) could be reversed in the presence of thiamine. The growth of Saccharomyces carlsbergensis was not inhibited by (I) at the presence of pyridoxine. At the absence of pyridoxine, it was rather stimulated at the concentration between 10^<-5> and 10^<-2> M/4 of (I), whereas the growth was inhibited in either lower or higher concentration than the range : 10^<-5>-10^<-2>M/4.

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Hydroxyethylthiamine (HET) and its related compounds showed the following activities on thiamine-requiring microorganisms for the growth. (1) HET, hydroxypropylthiamine (HPT) and hydroxyisobutylthiamine (HIBT) stimulated the growth of Lactobacillus fermenti at the same rate as thiamine, but the O-acylated compounds of HET, HPT and HIBT showed lower activities than thiamine. (2) HET, HPT and their O-acylated compounds stimulated the growth of Kloeckera apiculata at the same rate with thiamine, but HIBT and its O-acylated compounds showed lower activities than thiamine. (3) The growth stimulating activities of D- and L-HET on L. fermenti and Kl. apiculata were almost same as thiamine, but the activity of D-HET was a little higher than L-HET. (4) Kl. apiculata and Saccharomyces carlsbergensis, grown in the broth containing HET, accumulated thiamine and HET per se in cells. HET, HPT and HIBT proved to be inhibitory to the growth of Sacch. carlsbergensis to the same extent as thiamine, but the O-acylated compounds of HET, HPT and HIBT showed lower inhibition than thiamine. The growth inhibitions by HET, HPT and HIBT were reversed by the addition of pyridoxine.

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It was previously reported by authors that deoxythiamine (DOB_1) had competitive antithiamine effect on thiamine-less microorganisms such as Lactobacillus fermenti 36 and Kloeckera apiculata (Vitamins 22,200 ; 23,213,1961). The effects of this compound on enzymes related to thiamine or thiamine diphosphate were investigated. Pyruvate decarboxylase and thiamine pyrophosphokinase were purified from baker's yeast by Aoshima's and Kaziro's methods, respectively. DOB_1 had neither inhibitory nor stimulative effects on both enzymes and it did not take place of thiamine as substrate for thiamine pyrophosphokinase and thiamine diphosphate as coenzyme for pyruvate decarboxylase. Pyrithiamine showed competitive antithiamine effect on thiamine pyrophosphokinase which was completely same as Kaziro's report and oxythiamine and thiamine sulfuric acid ester had no effects on this enzyme as DOB_1.

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Many drugs with anticancer activity are now used, clinically, but most of them show undesirable side effects. Attempts have been made to overcome the side effects with prophylactic drugs. Some clinicians have reported pyridoxine and its derivatives have prophylactic effects. Whether the administration of anticancer drugs cause the pyridoxine deficiency or not inhibit the tryptophanase activity was examined to rat. Anticancer drugs (Mitomycin-C, Thio-TEPA, Cyclophosamide, and Chlomomycin) did not cause significant change in pyridoxine content of liver, urinary excretion of xanthurenic acid after loading with tryptophan on albino rat, nor effect on tryptophanase activity in vitro.

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Incorporation of O-benzoylthiamine disulfide (BTDS) into various organs of pregnant mouse and embryo was investigated using autoradiography after administration of ^3H-BTDS. ^3H-BTDS administered intragastrically was rapidly absorbed from duodenal epithelium and incorporated into the cells of various organs. The maximum concentration of labeled BTDS in the cells of various organs was observed over one to six hours after admimistration. But the incorporation of ^3H-BTDS into brain and heart was not so remarkable as the other organs throughout the course. Concerning the brain this might be related to blood-brain barrier. ^3H-BTDS was also incorporated rapidly into various organs of embryo with the maximum level over one to six hours after the administration. Liver and brain exceeded the other organs in incorporation of ^3H-BTDS.

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Influence of the enrichment with riboflavin tetrabutylate of starchy foods on bacterial growth was studied. Doughboys enriched with 1,10 and 100 mg% of riboflavin tetrabutylate and without the enrichment were boiled in separate beakers by separate examiners. After storage, the number of bacteria in each sample was determined. Statistical treatment indicated that no significant difference was found among them.

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Pyrophosphatase, which splits specifically reduced pyridine nucleotide (NADH_2,NADPH_2) into reduced nicotineamide mononucleotide and AMP or 3', 5'-ADP, has been purified 80 times from rat liver acetone powder. The purified enzyme indicated the turnover rate of 77 μmoles/hr/mg protein and splits only reduced pyridine nucleotide, but not splits oxidized NAD or NADP. Pyrophosphatases were found to be tightly bound to particle fraction. Intracellurar distribution was studied and mitochondrial and microsomal pyrophosphatases were separated clealy on DEAE-cellulose column chromatography, but kinetic difference between mitochondrial and microsomal isozymes were not recognized. The considerable degree of inhibition was recognized by addition of oxidized NAD, NADP, adeninenucleotides or reduced nicotineamide mononucleotide.

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Thiamine-HCl in a trimolar NaOH solution with equimolar glycine evolved H_2S and gradually precipitated a cryatalline product of mp. 115-117℃ (decomp). The release of H_2S from thiamine reached 65% of the theoretical value and the remaining thiamine was recovered to 21.8% of the initial value after 85 hours, while glycine was recovered to 96%. Thiamine can be resynthesized from the reaction-product by saturation of H_2S in its acetic acid solution. Therefore, the product seemed to be a desulfurized compound from the thiol-form of thiamine and its chemical structure will be discussed in the other report (Kurata, et al.).

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