Abstract
THE yeast extract “Marmite” has long been recognised as a source of the vitamin B complex; more recently it has been found of value in various types of anaemia. Marmite has been compared directly with the international standard vitamin B! preparation and found to contain 840 international units per oz., so that it is a potent source of this vitamin. It contains also vitamin B2 and other sub stances extractable from yeast, among which may be mentioned the ‘extrinsic’ factor required for normal blood formation. It is now generally con sidered that normal haematopoiesis depends upon the interaction of an ‘intrinsic’ factor present in the juice secreted by a healthy human stomach and an extrinsic factor present in the food: the compound formed by the interaction of these two factors is stored in the liver. In true pernicious anaemia, there is a deficiency in the secretion of the intrinsic factor, so that cure can only occur when the complete haema topoietic factor is supplied, as by giving liver or a preparation of it. In other anaemias, such as tropical macrocytic anaemia, it appears that the intake of the extrinsic factor is deficient; cure can then be brought about by administering marmite. The effectiveness of marmite in anaemia is not due apparently “to any constituent of the vitamin B complex present in the extract. Marmite is supplied by the Marmite Food Extract Co., Ltd., London, E.C.3.
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"Marmite". Nature 134, 623 (1934). https://doi.org/10.1038/134623c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/134623c0