American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 23, 127-131, Copyright © 1970 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc.

Vitamin B₁₂ Concentration of Serum and Tissues of B₁₂-Depleted Rats

¹ From the Department of Bacteriology, The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, and Department of Medicine, B. Hadassah-University Hospital, Jerusalem

Serum, liver, and kidney vitamin B₁₂ levels of adult rats kept on B₁₂-deficient diets declined very rapidly (within 5-10 days) to about 50% or less of those found in the controls. Rats kept on the deficient diets for 20 and 30 days showed a further drop in their serum B₁₂ levels. The B₁₂ concentration of liver and kidney reached a low plateau that was maintained despite continued consumption of the deficient diet. On the B₁₂-containing diets, the liver and kidney levels showed a distinct tendency to rise. The rise was particularly seen in the kidneys whose B₁₂ concentration after 30 days was seven-fold higher than that of the liver. The mechanism responsible for the pattern of B₁₂ changes in deficiency states is discussed.

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