• 1 January 1982
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 52 (3), 253-259
Abstract
In order to test the effect of a long term alcohol administration on the thiamin metabolism in blood, heart and liver under suboptimal supply, an experimental with rats was carried out over a period of 16 wk. The suboptimal thiamin supply became visible mainly in the liver stores which were lowered during the whole test period. The unphosphorylated thiamin (T) of liver and heart was not detectable after 4 wk up to the end of experiment. The total thiamin concentration in the erythrocytes increased from the beginning due to an enhanced TDP and TTP pool; T was lowered to undetectable amounts after only 16 wk. The .alpha.-TK in blood and liver was enhanced only after 2 and 4 wk and tended to become normal by the end of the test period indicating an apoenzyme degeneration. Alcohol ingestion resulted in a general diminution of the total thiamin and the thiamin phosphates in blood, heart and liver and a reduced thiamin excretion in urine. An alcohol induced shift of the phosphorylation status could be observed only in the liver, but not in the heart and the erythrocytes, leading to a lowered concentration of T and TMP. The level of thiamin and thiamin phosphates in blood and organs under suboptimal thiamin supply seems to be more sensitive to chronic alcohol administration than the transketolase activity and the .alpha.-TK value.