Anorexia Characteristic of Lack of the Vitamin B Complex

Abstract

Fifteen dogs subsisted on an artificial food mixture consisting of the highly-purified Casein-Harris, 3 sucrose, butter fat, lard, salt mixture and bone ash. The amounts of these ingredients were calculated according to the scheme described elsewhere. 4 This diet is much more highly purified with respect to the water-soluble vitamin factors than any other ration hitherto employed in this laboratory for feeding experiments with dogs. When anorexia supervened, the following materials were tested for their potency in restoring the urge to eat: (1) a fuller's earth adsorbate 5 containing the antineuritic vitamin B relatively free from the heat-stable G factor; (2) autoclaved yeast, devoid of the antineuritic substance (pigeon tests) but containing the antipellagra vitamin G (tests with young rats); (3) a concentrate of water-soluble vitamins present in milk 6 ; (4) combinations of the adsorbate with the autoclaved yeast and milk vitamin concentrate respectively; (5) whole yeast 7 ; (6) yeast vitamin powder (Harris) lot 1089 3 ; (7)tikitiki 8 ; (8) juice of canned tomatoes; and (9) vitavose. 9

One hundred ninety-nine trials were made; their distribution among test substances is shown in the accompanying table.