Herbs, Substances and Supplements

Vitamin B1 and Beriberi

By Markov ⋅ March 24, 2007 ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

Vitamin B1 (aka Thiamine aka 硫胺素) is activated to become TPP.

TPP is a coenzyme of α-酮酸氧化脱氢酶, which is needed for the following reactions:

1. 丙酮酸 – 〉乙酰CoA

2. 丙戊二酸 – 〉琥珀酰CoA

Both 乙酰CoA and 琥珀酰CoA enter the Citric Acid Cycle, which produces energy for a well functioning body.

More than a century ago, there was this disease that puzzled many doctors in Asia. Symptoms would include fatigue, leg weakness and edema, and in more serious cases, heart failure. Many thought it was due to contamination in the food that caused this, however it turned out to be a deficiency of Vitamin B1.

This disease is Beriberi（脚气）. In areas where white rice is the stable diet, people who only rely on rice for nutrition may miss out on the Vitamin B1 present in the husk.

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