EFFECTS OF VITAMIN B12 AND AUREOMYCIN ON NITROGEN RETENTION IN INFANTS

[摘要] The effects of vitamin B12 on weight, nitrogen and electrolyte balances were studied in six male infants. Three of the infants were offered nitrogen intakes of approximately 1.0 gm./kg./day, and the remaining three an intake of 0.1 gm./kg./ day.The effects of aureomycin were studied by the same criteria in two of the infants on low nitrogen intakes.The authors were unable to obtain unequivocal evidence that vitamin B12 exerts a nitrogen anabolic effect in infants maintained on constant intakes of high and low protein content.Vitamin B12 administration to the subjects on a high protein intake resulted in an increased urinary nitrogen excretion which may be a reflection of an enhanced rate of conversion of protein into carbohydrate or fat.Averages of the control and B12 period nitrogen retentions and weight gains in gm./kg./day were 0.235 and 11.8 for the high protein-fed subjects, and .011 and 2.4 for the low protein-fed subjects.Aureomycin did not produce beneficial effects on weight or nitrogen retention, but rather showed a tendency to augment fecal nitrogen losses.Appetite stimulation was noted in 2 of the 6 subjects given B12.A nitrogen intake of 0.1 gm./kg./day derived from cow's milk protein approximates the minimum requirement for equilibrium in male infants under the conditions of this study.

[学科分类] 儿科学