Studies on Chronic Vitamin B6 Deficiency in the Rat I. Changes in the Intact Animal

Abstract

A vitamin B₆ deficiency was produced in male albino rats by the use of the antivitamin, desoxypyridoxine, and a deficient diet. This was evidenced by the typical clinical signs of deficiency and an increased urinary excretion of xanthurenic acid. A significant increase in systolic blood pressure occurred in animals that were made deficient in vitamin B₆ by either simple dietary depletion or the use of desoxypyridoxine. This elevation in blood pressure could be rapidly reduced to normal limits and the clinical signs of the deficiency reversed by the dietary use of pyridoxal hydrochloride. Old as well as young animals showed this pattern. Hematologic and histologic studies failed to reveal any significant changes, and in no case were vascular lesions demonstrated. The extracellular fluid volume of the deficient animals was well within the normal limits.