The Distribution of Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) in Meat and Meat Products

Abstract

A biological method of assaying various materials for their vitamin B₁ content has been described. This is based on a comparison of the growth of rats on a basal ration containing the material to be assayed with the growth of rats on the basal ration with added amounts of crystalline vitamin B₁. A simple method of drying moist materials, which minimizes destruction of vitamin B₁, has also been described. By our method of assay a large number of meats and meat products have been tested for their vitamin B₁ content. A study has also been made on the stability of the vitamin under various types of household cooking. Here it was found that there was slight destruction of the vitamin during frying, but with roasting, broiling or stewing, the destruction of the vitamin approached 50%. A study of the influence of fats on the growth of the rats on our basal ration has been made. Our work showed that levels of fat up to 20% had no influence on the validity of our assays.