Vitamin B12deficiency and the excretion of ether-soluble acids in the rat

Abstract

1. Urinary excretion of total ether-soluble acids and of methylmalonic acid was studied in rats on vitamin B12-deficient diets with and without a vitamin B12supplement.2. It was shown that urinary excretion of total ether-soluble acids and methylmalonic acid was increased in vitamin B12-deficient rats and that this increase was somewhat variable between individual animals, males and females, and rats from different litters.3. The increased excretion of these acids could readily be reversed by supplementing the diet with vitamin B12.