Studies on experimental thiamine deficiency. Trends of keto acid formation and detection of glyoxylic acid

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Abstract
A chromatographic method for the detection and estimation of glyoxylic acid is described. Pyruvic acid and total keto acid concentrations in the blood and urine of thiamine-deficient rats at first rose and then fell. After 23-28 days there occurred a second rise which lasted until 2-3 days before death. Their concentration in the brain, liver, heart and skeletal muscle gradually rose. Methylglyoxal was not found in the blood, urine or tissues of either normal or thiamine-deficient rats during any stage of their life. Glyoxylic acid was detected in small quantity in the kidney and liver. It accumulated in the brain, kidney, liver, heart and skeletal muscle of rats given the thiamine-deficient diet. A small quantity of glyoxylic acid was found in the urine and blood of rats given prolonged restricted diet supplemented with thiamine; its concentration was much lower than that in thiamine deficiency. Glyoxylic acid was present in the urine of rats fed with thiamine-deficient diet after 12-14 days, reaching its peak after 30-40 days and declining thereafter. Glyoxylic acid was also detected in the blood of thiamine-deficient rats, first increasing and then declining in the same way as in the urine, but it appeared later than in the urine.

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