Vitamin B1 Guide

Thiamine or thiamin or vitamin B1 (pronounced /ˈθaɪ̯əmɨn/ "THIGH-a-min"), and named as the "thio-vitamine" ("sulfur-containing vitamin") is a water-soluble vitamin of the B complex. First named aneurin for the detrimental neurological effects of its lack in the diet, it was eventually assigned the generic descriptor name vitamin B1. Its phosphate derivatives are involved in many cellular processes. The best characterized form is thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP), a coenzyme in the catabolism of sugars and amino acids. In yeast, ThDP is also required in the first step of alcoholic fermentation.

All living organisms use thiamine in their biochemistry, but it is synthesized in bacteria, fungi and plants. Animals must obtain it from their diet, and thus for them it is a vitamin. Insufficient intake in birds produces a characteristic polyneuritis, and in mammals results in a disease called beriberi affecting the peripheral nervous system (polyneuritis) and/or the cardiovascular system, with fatal outcome if not cured by thiamine administration.[1] In less severe deficiency, nonspecific signs include malaise, weight loss, irritability and confusion.[2] Today, there is still a much work devoted to elucidating the exact mechanisms by which thiamine deficiency leads to the specific symptoms observed (see below). New thiamine phosphate derivatives have recently been discovered,[3] emphasizing the complexity of thiamine metabolism and the need for more research in the field....