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Vitamin B 12 Production by the Gastro‐intestinal Microflora of Baboons Fed either a Vitamin B 12 Deficient Diet or a Diet Supplemented with Vitamin B 12
Author(s) -
UPHILL PATRICIA F.,
JACOB FREDERIKA,
LALL PARVINDER
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
journal of applied bacteriology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.889
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2672
pISSN - 0021-8847
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2672.1977.tb00760.x
Subject(s) - vitamin , baboon , vitamin b , biology , vitamin b12 , food science , pyridoxine , feces , cyanocobalamin , medicine , zoology , endocrinology , microbiology and biotechnology
The vitamin B 12 ‐producing capacity of micro‐organisms isolated from baboon faeces and gastric contents was measured using Lactobacillus leichmannii . The animals were fed either a diet deficient in or supplemented with vitamin B 12 (controls). Samples of gastric and small intestinal contents, obtained at laparotomy from two young vitamin B 12 ‐deprived baboons, contained varying quantities of vitamin B 12 . Many of the organisms isolated from these aspirates produced vitamin B 12 in vitro . The highest levels of vitamin B 12 were produced by anaerobic organisms. Gastric juice samples from vitamin B 12 deprived and control baboons contained similar types of organisms with like vitamin B 12 ‐producing capacity. The vitamin B 12 content, pH and total bacterial counts of gastric juice samples aspirated after a 6 h fast from vitamin B 12 deprived baboons were not significantly different from those of the control animals. The pH values of gastric juice samples aspirated 18 h after feeding, however, were significantly lower than those of 6 h fasting samples in both groups. The mean vitamin B 12 levels in the total volumes of gastric juice aspirated after each fasting period were similar. The possible involvement of the gastrointestinal flora in the vitamin B 12 status of the baboon is discussed.