EFFECTS OF CALCIUM AND MAGNESIUM DEFICIENCY ON THIAMINE DISTRIBUTION IN RAT BRAIN AND LIVER

Wistar rats were divided into 4 groups and the following different synthetic diets were given for 1 month: group 1, calcium- and magnesium-deficient; group 2, calcium-deficient, magnesium-sufficient; group 3, calcium-sufficient, magnesium-deficient; group 4, calcium-sufficient, magnesium-sufficient (normal diet). After 1 month on these dietary regimens, the rats were killed. In calcium-deficiency (groups 1 and 2), thiamine concentration in synaptosomal and myelin-membrane fractions in the brain had decreased and the ratio of free thiamine to total thiamine and non-protein bound thiamine amount had increased in the brain. In magnesium-deficiency (groups 1 and 3), thiamine concentration in the liver and activities of thiamine-dependent enzymes in liver had decreased. These results indicate that calcium plays a role in binding thiamine in nerve membrane structures, which have a specific role in the conduction process of nervous tissues. In contrast, magnesium has little effect on thiamine in nervous tissues but may play an important role in thiamine-dependent enzyme systems in the liver.