State of oxidation of nonprotein sulfhydryl compounds in vitamin B₁₂ deficiency

¹ Department of Agricultural Chemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri

A vitamin B₁₂ deficiency in weanling rats, which reduced their average weight to one-half that of controls, decreased liver concentration of nonprotein sulfhydryl (NPSH) compounds about 10% but had no effect on concentration of disulfide compounds. Fasting did not accentuate the effect of the deficiency. Dams severely depleted of B₁₂ produced offspring whose livers contained significantly less NPSH and correspondingly more nonprotein disulfide (NPSS) compounds than controls. Thus the decreased concentration of NPSH on the B₁₂-deficient liver was accounted for as NPSS. Vitamin B₁₂ deficiency had no effect on the rate of anaerobic glycolysis in liver and brain tissues.