Recovery of Thiamine Injected into the Rat Cecum. ∗

Abstract

Summary

Rats receiving a thiamine-free diet and with coprophagy prevented were administered thiamine by injection directly into the cecum. Lack of growth response indicated little or no absorption of the injected thiamine from the large intestine. Recovery from feces of the injected thiamine showed a loss equivalent to approximately 4 μg per day. It has been concluded that this represents the rate of destruction of thiamine in the large intestine. The inclusion of penicillin in the diet did not alter the absorbability nor did it affect the rate of destruction of thiamine in the large intestine.