Concentrations of thiamine and its phosphate esters in rat tissues determined by high-performance liquid chromatography.

Abstract

Thiamine and its phosphate esters in rat tissues were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography after conversion to thiochrome and its phosphate esters. Total thiamine concentrations determined in the brain, liver, heart and kidney were 6.39, 25.2, 15.7 and 14.9 nmol/g wet wt, respectively. In all tissues tested, thiamine, its monophosphate, pyrophosphate and triphosphate were present at the rates of 1.2-7.7, 5.9-11.0, 85.7-90.0 and 0.7-1.6%, respectively. These percentages of thiamine phosphates were similar to those reported previously using different procedures but the percentage of thiamine triphosphate content in rat tissues was lower than that reported. The time required for the entire process of analysis averaged 90 min after isolation of the organs from the animal.