Total Thiamine Research Articles

Modulation of thiamine metabolism in Zea mays seedlings under conditions of abiotic stress

The responses of plants to abiotic stress involve the up-regulation of numerous metabolic pathways, including several major routes that engage thiamine diphosphate (TDP)-dependent enzymes. This suggests that the metabolism of thiamine (vitamin B1) and its phosphate esters in plants may be modulated under various stress conditions. In the present study, Zea mays seedlings were used as a model system to analyse for any relation between the plant response to abiotic stress and the properties of thiamine biosynthesis and activation. Conditions of drought, high salt, and oxidative stress were induced by polyethylene glycol, sodium chloride, and hydrogen peroxide, respectively. The expected increases in the abscisic acid levels and in the activities of antioxidant enzymes including catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, and glutathione reductase were found under each stress condition. The total thiamine compound content in the maize seedling leaves increased under each stress condition applied, with the strongest effects on these levels observed under the oxidative stress treatment. This increase was also found to be associated with changes in the relative distribution of free thiamine, thiamine monophosphate (TMP), and TDP. Surprisingly, the activity of the thiamine synthesizing enzyme, TMP synthase, responded poorly to abiotic stress, in contrast to the significant enhancement found for the activities of the TDP synthesizing enzyme, thiamine pyrophosphokinase, and a number of the TDP/TMP phosphatases. Finally, a moderate increase in the activity of transketolase, one of the major TDP-dependent enzymes, was detectable under conditions of salt and oxidative stress. These findings suggest a role of thiamine metabolism in the plant response to environmental stress.

Can glucose make you faint?

In April, 2008, a 27-year-old woman came to the emergency department of her local hospital, with a 3-week history of dizziness, low appetite, and occasional vomiting. 2 months before, she had undergone an uncomplicated laparoscopic proximal gastric bypass for obesity; on discharge, she was prescribed multivitamins and lansoprazole.

Rapid HPLC Measurement of Thiamine and Its Phosphate Esters in Whole Blood

Thiamine (vitamin B(1)) deficiency is associated with severe diseases such as beriberi and Wernicke encephalopathy. Although most Americans have sufficient dietary intake, thiamine deficiency is observed in the alcohol-dependent and elderly populations. Measurement of thiamine concentration in whole blood provides an assessment of vitamin B(1) status in at-risk individuals. We used TCA to precipitate proteins in whole blood. Thiamine and its phosphate esters were derivatized using potassium ferricyanide to thiochromes, which were separated by gradient elution on a reversed-phase HPLC column and detected by fluorescence. The method was validated for linearity, limit of quantification, imprecision, accuracy, and interference. Results obtained with this method were compared with those produced by the method currently used in our clinical laboratory. Reference values of thiamine and its phosphate esters were determined in samples obtained from self-reported healthy adults who were not taking vitamin supplements. To shorten analysis time, our method used whole blood rather than washed erythrocytes, did not require lengthy enzymatic dephosphorylation, and had a simple mobile phase. The method was linear to 4000 nmol/L. The lower limit of quantification was 3 nmol/L. The within-run CV was <3.5% and total CV was <9.4%. This method correlated with our current method (r = 0.97). Approximately 90% of the total thiamine content in whole blood was present as thiamine diphosphate (TDP). The means (ranges) for an apparently healthy population were 114 (70-179) nmol/L for TDP and 125 (75-194) nmol/L for total thiamine. Results for separation and measurement of free thiamine and thiamine phosphate esters in whole blood were obtained within 5.5 min. We developed an HPLC method that allows separation and measurement of free thiamine and thiamine phosphate esters in whole blood and provides more rapid results than other methods.

Adenylate kinase-independent thiamine triphosphate accumulation under severe energy stress in Escherichia coli

BackgroundThiamine triphosphate (ThTP) exists in most organisms and might play a role in cellular stress responses. In E. coli, ThTP is accumulated in response to amino acid starvation but the mechanism of its synthesis is still a matter of controversy. It has been suggested that ThTP is synthesized by an ATP-dependent specific thiamine diphosphate kinase. However, it is also known that vertebrate adenylate kinase 1 catalyzes ThTP synthesis at a very low rate and it has been postulated that this enzyme is responsible for ThTP synthesis in vivo.ResultsHere we show that bacterial, as vertebrate adenylate kinases are able to catalyze ThTP synthesis, but at a rate more than 106-fold lower than ATP synthesis. This activity is too low to explain the high rate of ThTP accumulation observed in E. coli during amino acid starvation. Moreover, bacteria from the heat-sensitive CV2 strain accumulate high amounts of ThTP (>50% of total thiamine) at 37°C despite complete inactivation of adenylate kinase and a subsequent drop in cellular ATP.ConclusionThese results clearly demonstrate that adenylate kinase is not responsible for ThTP synthesis in vivo. Furthermore, they show that E. coli accumulate large amounts of ThTP under severe energy stress when ATP levels are very low, an observation not in favor of an ATP-dependent mechanisms for ThTP synthesis.

Thiamine and Fatty Acid Content of Lake Michigan Chinook Salmon

Nutritional status of Lake Michigan Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) is inadequately documented. An investigation was conducted to determine muscle and liver thiamine content and whole body fatty acid composition in small, medium and large Chinook salmon. Muscle and liver thiamine concentrations were highest in small salmon, and tended to decrease with increasing fish size. Muscle thiamine was higher in fall than spring in large salmon. The high percentage of Chinook salmon (24–32% in fall and 58–71% in spring) with muscle thiamine concentration below 500 pmol/g, which has been associated with loss of equilibrium and death in other Great Lake salmonines, suggest that Chinook appear to rely less on thiamine than other Great Lakes species for which such low concentrations would be associated with thiamine deficiency (Brown et al. 2005b). A positive correlation was observed between liver total thiamine and percent liver lipids (r = 0.53, P < 0.0001, n = 119). In medium and large salmon, liver lipids were observed to be low in fish with less than 4,000 pmol/g liver total thiamine. In individuals with greater than 4,000 pmol/g liver thiamine, liver lipid increased with thiamine concentration. Individual fatty acids declined between fall and spring. Essential omega-3 fatty acids appear to be conserved as lipid content declined. Arachidonic acid (C20:4n6), an essential omega-6 fatty acid was not different between fall and spring, although the sum of omega-6 (Sw6) fatty acids declined over winter. Elevated concentrations of saturated fatty acids (sum) were observed in whole body tissue lipid. In summary, thiamine, a dietary essential vitamin, and individual fatty acids were found to vary in Lake Michigan Chinook salmon by fish size and season of the year.

The influence of formulation and processing on stability of thiamin in three styles of Asian noodles

Asian styles of noodle products represent the end-use of at least one eighth of all wheat produced globally and are potentially a good dietary source of essential nutrients. In order to investigate the factors influencing thiamin content, three styles of noodles were made under controlled laboratory conditions. The losses during preparation of dried white salted noodles were low. Boiling of these noodles resulted in a 43% decline in total thiamin level. In contrast, the relative losses of thiamin were high for yellow alkaline noodles and these occurred at each step in the process including dough mixing and drying. For instant noodles decreases also occurred at each step and these were smaller than for yellow alkaline but greater than for white salted noodles. The variation in ingredients and processing accounts at least partially for differences in thiamin levels of different noodle styles.

Temporal changes in Sander vitreus egg thiamine levels

Thiamine pyrophosphate was the predominant form of thiamine present initially in walleye Sander vitreus eggs from two spawning locations in Lake Oahe, South Dakota, U.S.A. Total thiamine content in the eggs at fertilization was 5·18 and 7·97 nmol g−1 for eggs from the Moreau and Grand River spawning sites respectively, and egg thiamine content in all its forms dropped dramatically at the next sampling period of 48 temperature units (TU). Thiamine values did not significantly drop after the 48 TU period, but mean total thiamine composition was &lt; 0·9 nmol g−1 at the last sampling date (156 TU) just prior to hatching.

Effect of Sample Handling on Thiamine and Thiaminolytic Activity in Alewife

AbstractAlewives Alosa pseudoharengus were collected to evaluate handling and processing conditions that may affect the measurement of their thiamine–thiaminase content. Fish were captured by otter trawl, and reference samples of live fish were quick‐frozen on dry ice immediately following capture. Other samples were placed on wet ice (4°C) or held in ambient lake water (21.5°C) for periods of up to 5 h before freezing. Total thiamine levels for reference samples averaged 26 nmol/g and consisted of 66, 15, and 19% thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP), thiamine monophosphate (TMP), and unphosphorylated thiamine (Th), respectively. After 120 min at either 4°C or 21.5°C, total thiamine concentrations were lower. At 21.5°C, the TPP proportion had decreased by 30 min and the proportion as Th increased after 60 min. In the groups sampled after 5 h, total thiamine concentrations were not altered but the proportion of TPP was lower and that of Th was higher than in reference samples. The stability of thiamine in thawed muscle samples from previously frozen alewives was poor (40% loss by 1 h at 22°C and 30% loss by 2 h at 4°C). Thiaminase activity averaged 5,975 pmol·g wet weight−1·min−1 in reference samples. In fresh‐caught alewives, thiaminase activities were remarkably consistent throughout the sampling period. At 4°C, thiaminase activity in muscle tissue from previously frozen alewives was stable for the entire investigation period. At 25°C, the activity initially increased by 40% after 60 min but then decreased to 50% of initial value after 5 h. We conclude that sampling times greater than 25 min could cause some changes in the various thiamine forms and net loss in total thiamine. The thiamine content in previously frozen alewife samples is highly labile, requiring low temperatures during processing for analysis.

Thiamine and Thiaminase Status in Forage Fish of Salmonines from Lake Michigan

AbstractDietary sources of thiamine (vitamin B1) and thiamine‐degrading enzymes (thiaminases) are thought to be primary factors in the development of thiamine deficiency among Great Lakes salmonines. We surveyed major forage fish species in Lake Michigan for their content of thiamine, thiamine vitamers, and thiaminase activity. Concentrations of total thiamine were similar (P ≤ 0.05) among most forage fishes (alewife Alosa pseudoharengus, bloater Coregonus hoyi, spottail shiner Notropis hudsonius, deepwater sculpin Myoxocephalus thompsonii, yellow perch Perca flavescens, ninespine stickleback Pungitius pungitius, and round goby Neogobius melanostomus) and slightly lower in rainbow smelt Osmerus mordax. Concentrations of total thiamine were all above the dietary requirements of coldwater fishes, suggesting the thiamine content of forage fish is not the critical factor in the development of thiamine deficiency in Lake Michigan salmonines. Thiamine pyrophosphate was the predominant form of thiamine in most species of forage fish, followed by free thiamine and thiamine monophosphate. Total thiamine was slightly greater in summer collections of alewife and rainbow smelt than in spring and fall collections, but the same was not true for bloater. Thiaminase activity varied among species and was greatest in gizzard shad Dorosoma cepedianum, spottail shiner, alewife, and rainbow smelt. Thiaminase activity in alewife varied among collection locations, season (greatest in spring), and size of the fish. Size and condition factors were positively correlated with both total thiamine and thiaminase activity in alewife. Thus, thiamine and thiaminase activity in forage fishes collected in Lake Michigan varied among species, seasons, year caught, and size (or condition). Therefore, multiple factors must be considered in the development of predictive models for the onset of thiamine deficiency in Great Lakes salmonines. Most importantly, thiaminase activity was great in alewives and rainbow smelt, suggesting that these prey fish are key causative factors of the thiamine deficiency in Great Lakes salmonines.

A Rapid Solid‐Phase Extraction Fluorometric Method for Thiamine and Riboflavin in Salmonid Eggs

AbstractA new method has been developed and successfully applied to the selective measurement of thiamine (nonphosphorylated), total thiamine (sum of thiamine, thiamine monophosphate (TMP), thiamine diphosphate (TDP), and thiamine triphosphate (TTP)), and potentially interfering riboflavin in acidic (2% trichloroacetic acid) extracts of selected salmonid and walleye egg samples. Acidic extracts of eggs were applied directly to end‐capped C18, reversed‐phase solid‐phase extraction (SPE) columns and separated into three fractions by elution with mixtures of PO4 buffer (pH 2), methanol (10%), and acetonitrile (20%). All thiamine compounds recovered in the first two fractions were oxidized to their corresponding thiochromes with alkaline potassium hexacyanoferrate, and we measured the thiochrome fluorescence (excitation at 360 nm, emission at 460 nm) in a 96‐well microplate reader. Riboflavin, recovered in third fraction (eluted with pH 2, 20% acetonitrile), was analyzed directly by measuring the fluorescence of this fraction (excitation at 450 nm, emission at 530 nm). Significant portions of the phosphate esters of thiamine (TMP, TDP, and presumably TTP), when present at low concentrations (&lt;10 nmol of total −thiamine per gram of egg), were not retained by the 100‐mg SPE column, and were collected directly during sample loading and in a subsequent phosphoric acid rinse as fraction 1. Free thiamine (nonphosphorylated) and remaining portions of the TDP and TMP were then eluted in the second fraction with 10% methanol/PO4 buffer, whereas the un‐ionized, relatively nonpolar riboflavin was eluted in the third fraction with 20% acetonitrile. This new method uses a traditional sample homogenization of egg tissue to extract thiamine compounds into 2% trichlororacetic acid solution; an inexpensive, commercially available SPE column; small amounts of sample (0.5–1 g); microliter volumes of solvents per sample; a traditional, relatively nonhazardous, oxidation of thiamine compounds to fluorescent thiochromes; and an ultraviolet–visible‐wavelength‐filter fluorometer for the measurements.

The Effect of Thiamine Injection on Upstream Migration, Survival, and Thiamine Status of Putative Thiamine‐Deficient Coho Salmon

AbstractA diet containing a high proportion of alewives Alosa pseudoharengus results in a thiamine deficiency that has been associated with high larval salmonid mortality, known as early mortality syndrome (EMS), but relatively little is known about the effects of the deficiency on adults. Using thiamine injection (50 mg thiamine/kg body weight) of ascending adult female coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch on the Platte River, Michigan, we investigated the effects of thiamine supplementation on migration, adult survival, and thiamine status. The thiamine concentrations of eggs, muscle (red and white), spleen, kidney (head and trunk), and liver and the transketolase activity of the liver, head kidney, and trunk kidney of fish injected with thiamine dissolved in physiological saline (PST) or physiological saline only (PS) were compared with those of uninjected fish. The injection did not affect the number of fish making the 15‐km upstream migration to a collection weir but did affect survival once fish reached the upstream weir, where survival of PST‐injected fish was almost twice that of controls. The egg and liver thiamine concentrations in PS fish sampled after their upstream migration were significantly lower than those of uninjected fish collected at the downstream weir, but the white muscle thiamine concentration did not differ between the two groups. At the upper weir, thiamine levels in the liver, spleen, head kidney, and trunk kidney of PS fish were indistinguishable from those of uninjected fish (called “wigglers”) suffering from a severe deficiency and exhibiting reduced equilibrium, a stage that precedes total loss of equilibrium and death. For PST fish collected at the upstream weir, total thiamine levels in all tissues were significantly elevated over those of PS fish. Based on the limited number of tissues examined, thiamine status was indicated better by tissue thiamine concentration than by transketolase activity. The adult injection method we used appears to be a more effective means of increasing egg thiamine levels than immersion of eggs in a thiamine solution.

Pharmacokinetics of thiamine in female Baltic salmon ( Salmo salar L.) broodfish

A thiamine deficiency disease termed M74 syndrome affects the yolk-sac fry of wild and feral Baltic salmon. However, very little is known about the pharmacokinetics of thiamine in salmon. This study examined the pharmacokinetics of thiamine hydrochloride injected intraperitoneally into feral and farmed Baltic salmon females preparing for spawning. The total thiamine concentrations in the eggs and white muscle of feral females were only half of those in the farmed fish after injection. The relative inefficiency of the incorporation of thiamine into the eggs in feral Baltic salmon may be a predisposition factor for M74 syndrome. The relative bioavailability of intraperitoneally-injected thiamine hydrochloride was shown to be ca. 94% of that administered intra-aortically. A far lower intraperitoneal dose (ca. 20 mg kg −1 fish) than currently used was shown to elevate the total thiamine concentration in the eggs above the critical threshold of M74 syndrome.

Obese individuals as thiamin storers.

To investigate thiamin and its phosphoester content in plasma and erythrocytes for a complete picture of thiamin status in obese individuals. Comparative study of the thiamin status of obese vs normal individuals. In all, 10 healthy, overweight, fertile age women (age: 33.1+/-5.1 y; BMI: 47.0+/-0.2 kg/m(2)) and 10 normal women (age: 30.1+/-3.5 y; BMI: 22.8+/-0.2 kg/m(2)). a high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the determination of thiamin and its phosphoesters in the plasma and erythrocytes of the subjects. The major findings were: (1) significant decrease of plasma thiamin, its monophosphate and total thiamin contents in obese vs normal women; (2) significant decrease of thiamin pyrophosphate ester and total thiamin content in obese vs normal women; (3) significant increase in plasma thiamin/thiamin monophosphate ratio (in practice, it was inverted) and corresponding decrease of the plasma thiamin monophosphate/erythrocytes thiamin pyrophosphate ratio in obese vs normal women, where plasma thiamin monophosphate and erythrocytes thiamin pyrophosphate contents are an index of thiamin status. This study advances the hypothesis that obese women maintain higher levels of thiamin compared to normal weight subjects by storing greater amounts of thiamin in cells through preferential intracellular thiamin recycling to compensate for relatively lower levels of thiamin.

Thiamine Triphosphate, a New Signal Required for Optimal Growth of Escherichia coli during Amino Acid Starvation

Thiamine triphosphate (ThTP) is present in low amounts in most organisms from bacteria to humans, but its biological role remains unknown. Escherichia coli grown aerobically in LB medium contain no detectable amounts of ThTP, but when they are transferred to M9 minimal medium with a substrate such as glucose or pyruvate, there is a rapid but transient accumulation of relatively high amounts of ThTP (about 20% of total thiamine). If a mixture of amino acids is present in addition to glucose, ThTP accumulation is impaired, suggesting that the latter may occur in response to amino acid starvation. To test the importance of ThTP for bacterial growth, we used an E. coli strain overexpressing a specific human recombinant thiamine triphosphatase as a glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion protein (GST-ThTPase). Those bacteria were unable to accumulate measurable amounts of ThTP. On minimal medium supplemented with glucose, pyruvate, or acetate, they exhibited an intermediate plateau in cell growth compared with control bacteria expressing GST alone or a GST fusion protein unrelated to thiamine metabolism. These results suggest that the early accumulation of ThTP initiates a reaction cascade involved in the adaptation of bacteria to stringent conditions such as amino acid starvation. This is the first demonstration of a physiological role of this ubiquitous compound in any organism.

Thiamine binding and metabolism in germinating seeds of selected cereals and legumes

The basic characteristics of thiamine metabolism in germinating seeds of maize ( Zea mays), oat ( Avena sativa), faba bean ( Vicia faba) and garden pea ( Pisum sativum) are presented with a special emphasis of a possible thiamine storage function of seed thiamine-binding proteins (TBPs). Seeds were germinated for 6 d in the dark. Thiamine-binding activity in seeds decreased during germination by 50% in cereals and by 30% in legumes. The degradation of TBPs was also detected by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The total thiamine content decreased rapidly to 20–40% of the initial value in cereal seeds during first 3 d of germination while in legume seeds thiamine content started changing from the fourth day and dropped by 50% at the sixth day. A composite pattern was found for the changes in thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP) contribution to total thiamine during seed germination. A peak of the coenzyme percentage was usually detected at the second day of germination. Another gain of TPP was often seen toward the sixth day of germination. The activity of thiamine pyrophosphokinase (EC 2.7.6.2) was high in resting legume seeds and did not significantly change during germination. In contrast, the low activity of this thiamine-activating enzyme in cereal seeds progressively increased during germination. Thiamine phosphate synthase (EC 2.5.1.3) was also detected in seeds and was shown to contribute significantly to the balance of thiamine compounds during seed germination.

Modeling Thermal and Mechanical Effects on Retention of Thiamin in Extruded Foods

ABSTRACT: A model was proposed to predict separate thermal and mechanical effects of extrusion cooking on thiamin retention. Thermal effects were determined by heating small samples of wheat flour mixed with 0.30% (wt/ wt) thiamin hydrochloride isothermally at 140 °C, 151 °C, and 161 °C for different times. The calculated activation energy and rate constants at each temperature were 67.28 kJ/g mol and 0.00869/min, 0.0145/min, and 0.0224/min, respectively. The “extruder constant” was estimated as 27.7/rev, based on a matching‐viscosity method. Wheat flour with 0.30% (wt/wt) thiamin was extruded at different screw speeds. Mechanical effects caused 89.7% to 94.4% of total thiamin loss. This research provides a generalized method to “fingerprint” the extrusion process.

Paraquat and menadione exposure of rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss)—Studies of effects on the pentose-phosphate shunt and thiamine levels in liver and kidney

Possible xenobiotic interactions with thiamine were studied in salmonid fish, by repeatedly injecting two model substances, paraquat and menadione, into juvenile rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss). These two substances were chosen because of their well-known ability to redox-cycle and cause depletion of NADPH in several biological systems. Depletion of NADPH increases metabolism through the pentose-phosphate shunt and may thereby increase the need for thiamine diphosphate by heightened transketolase activity. A special food was produced with lower thiamine content than commercial food, usually enriched with thiamine, which could mask an effect on the thiamine level. After 9 weeks of exposure, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, transketolase, glutathione reductase and ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase were analysed in liver and kidney cellular sub-fractions as well as analysis of total thiamine concentrations in liver, kidney and muscle. The results showed that paraquat caused a large increase in hepatic glutathione reductase activity and induced hepatic glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity, i.e., the rate-limiting enzyme in the oxidative part of the pentose-phosphate shunt. Despite this paraquat exposure did not affect transketolase activity and total thiamine concentration.

Cerebrospinal fluid levels of thiamine in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Thiamine is an essential cofactor for several important enzymes involved in brain oxidative metabolism, such as the alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex (KGDHC), pyruvate-dehydrogenase complex (PDHC), and transketolase. Some investigators reported decreased thiamine-diphosphate levels and decreased activities of KGDHC, pyruvate-dehydrogenase complex and transketolase in the brain tissue of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. We measured cerebrospinal (CSF) levels of thiamine-diphosphate, thiamine-monophosphate, free thiamine, and total thiamine, using ion-pair reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography, in 33 patients with sporadic AD and 32 matched controls. The mean CSF levels of thiamine-derivatives did not differ significantly from those of controls, while the mean plasma levels of thiamine-diphosphate, free and total thiamine were significantly lower in the AD-patient group. CSF and plasma thiamine levels were not correlated with age, age at onset, duration of the disease, and scores of the MiniMental State Examination, with the exception of plasma thiamine-diphosphate with MiniMental State Examination (r = 0.41, p < 0.05) in the AD-patients group. CSF and plasma values did not predict dementia progression, assessed with the MiniMental State Examination scores. These results suggest that CSF thiamine levels are not related with the risk for and the progression of AD.

PCDD, PCDF, PCB and thiamine in Baltic herring (Clupea harengus L.) and sprat [ Sprattus sprattus (L.)] as a background to the M74 syndrome of Baltic salmon (Salmo salar L.)

Baltic herring and sprat were sampled between October 1994 and January 1995 off the southern coast of Finland and around the Åland Islands. From this material fish of 135–159 mm in length, a size class that was assumed to be preferred as prey by Baltic salmon, were selected and grouped according to species, sex and age. Herring were 1–3 years and sprat 3–13 years old. In addition, one group of smaller, two-year-old, female sprat was selected. Thus twenty groups were formed and prepared as whole-fish homogenates. Thiamine was quantified from all homogenates, while female and male sprat and female herring were analysed for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs). There were no significant differences between sexes within each species in the total thiamine concentrations, but the mean total thiamine concentration in 1 to 3-year-old herring (8.6 nmol g −1 ) was higher than that in 2 to 13-year-old sprat (6.7 nmol g −1 ). The mean-fresh-weight concentrations of total PCBs, coplanar PCBs, PCDDs and PCDFs were on average 2–3 times higher in 2 to 10-year-old sprat than in 1 to 3-year-old herring of a similar size, although the difference in PCDD concentrations was not significant. In sprat females there were no significant correlations between age or fat content and the fresh-weight concentrations of coplanar PCBs or PCDFs. However, the higher OC concentrations in sprat could be explained both by their higher fat content, with the younger age groups being the most fatty, and by their age, which reflects their slower growth rate. The fat-weight-based total PCB, PCDD, PCDF and coplanar PCB concentrations increased with age in sprat and, after controlling for age, there was a significant positive relationship between the fat content and the fresh-weight-based concentrations of OCs, apart from total PCBs. On a fat-weight basis the concentration of coplanar PCBs was also higher in sprat than in herring. It is concluded that the Baltic salmon is provided with an adequate supply of thiamine, at least for growth, from its two main prey species, Baltic herring and sprat. Furthermore, sprat might have been the principal source of organochlorines, particularly coplanar PCBs and PCDFs, for salmon. The concentrations of these compounds were earlier found to have increased in salmon coincidently with the outbreak of the M74 syndrome. Copyright 2002 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved .

Parental Background Predisposes Baltic Salmon Fry to M74 Syndrome

Parental Background Predisposes Baltic Salmon Fry to M74 Syndrome