Abstract
WE have received from Messrs. Merck and Co. an illustrated brochure of upwards of fifty pages entitled “ The Story of Vitamin B1”, which gives an up-to-date account of the chemistry, physiology and nutritional value of the vitamin. To each section is appended a useful bibliography, from which those interested can obtain more detailed information than it is possible to give in a summary review. The information supplied, nevertheless, covers the field remarkably well and brings together work which is scattered in numerous journals, so that the reader obtains a picture of our present knowledge of the vitamin in all its aspects and is readily able to see how far the work of different authors is in agreement or otherwise. After an account of the chemistry and synthesis of the vitamin, a useful section is devoted to the question of its standardization and the relationship of the different "biological units"to the international unit, information which is not readily available in summary form. Our knowledge of its physiology is then reviewed, and the following sections are devoted to its value in human and animal nutrition, the normal human requirements and the effects of a subnormal intake. The brochure is not intended for general distribution, but will be sent to investigators in the field of vitamin therapy, to medical specialists, food chemists, research workers in human and animal nutrition, colleges and universities, Government agricultural and experiment stations, and manufacturers of pharmaceutical and proprietary products.
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Vitamin B1. Nature 141, 1006 (1938). https://doi.org/10.1038/1411006c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1411006c0