Vitamin B1 (thiamine) is an essential vitamin in all animals. It was originally called aneurin - a reference to negative effects on the nervous system (caused by lack of this material).
In Man, thiamine deficiency causes
beri-beri (symptoms include severe lethargy and fatigue, with complications affecting cardiovascular, nervous, muscular and gastrointestinal systems).
Thiamine is found in yeast, cereal grains, beans, nuts, and meat, especially pork, but processed out of
refined grain products.
Thiamine is often taken in as the chloride, and inside cells it is converted into the (pyro)phosphate (TPP) which acts as cofactor for the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex which decarboxylates pyruvate, resulting in the formation of acetyl Coenzyme A that condenses with oxaloacetate to form citrate, the first component of the citric acid cycle. It is especially active in the nervous system, and is involved in biosynthesis of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA).
The name thiamine refers to the
sulphur content as well as its
amino group.
More molecular detail:
aminopyrimidine ring ...
methylene bridge ...
thiazole ring ...
methyl and
hydroxyethyl side chains