Mechanism of Vitamin B 1 Destruction by a Factor in Raw Smelt

Abstract

Summary

A viable yeast can protect its thiamine from destruction by a factor present in raw smelt. The antithiamine factor behaves similarly to the antibiotin factor in its inability to penetrate the living cell. The in-activation of thiamine does not appear to be due to the formation of thiamine complexes labile to hydrolysis or to the splitting of the Bi molecule but rather to an enzymatic degradation of the thiamine molecule. The destructive factor in raw smelt is labile to air drying at room temperatures, heating at 100°C and is extractable in 5% alcohol. Certain raw fish or extracts of these fish may prove valuable in the preparation of vitamin B₁ free diets without the necessity of resorting to prolonged autoclaving.