Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) Unit Conversion

Thiamine (vitamin B1), first named “the antiberiberi factor” in 1926, has a historical value due to the very early description of beriberi in the Chinese medical texts, as far back as 2697 BC.
Thiamine acts as a coenzyme in decarboxylation reactions in major carbohydrate pathways and in branched-chain amino acid metabolism. It is rapidly absorbed from food in the small intestine and excreted in the urine.
Thiamine is found in larger quantities in food products such as yeast, legumes, pork, rice, and cereals. Milk products, fruits, and vegetables are poor sources of thiamine. The thiamine molecule is denatured at high pH and high temperatures. Hence, cooking, baking, and canning of some foods as well as pasteurization can destroy thiamine. Thiamine is an essential vitamin required for carbohydrate metabolism, brain function, and peripheral nerve myelination. Thiamine deficiency has been associated with three disorders: Beriberi (infantile and adult), Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, and Leigh syndrome.
The clinical condition associated with chronic thiamine deficiency is beriberi. Although usually occurring in underdeveloped countries of the world, beriberi may be found in the United States among persons with chronic alcoholism. Decreased intake, impaired absorption, and increased requirements all appear to play a role in the development of thiamine deficiency in persons with alcoholism. The RDA of thiamine is 1.2 mg/day for adult males and 1.1 mg/day for adult females. Thiamine functional activity is best measured by erythrocyte transketolase (ETK) activity, before and after the addition of thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP). Thiamine deficiency is present if the increase in activity after the addition of TPP is greater than 25%.