STUDIES IN THE PHYSIOLOGY OF VITAMINS

Abstract

Experiments on 5 dogs, 1 of which was a control, indicate that the administration of large amounts of fluid by mouth to an animal subsisting on a diet relatively free from undifferentiated vitamin B markedly shortens the time required for the appearance of the anorexia characteristic of a lack of this dietary essential. This result is not in harmony with the hypothesis that the symptoms of B deficiency are essentially those of a toxemia. A practical application of these results is suggested in the clinical treatment of the marasmus in infants due to lack of vitamin B by administration of fluid together with the missing vitamin.