Vitamin B12 nutrition and metabolism in the baboon (Papio cynocephalus)

Abstract

1. Measurement of the vitamin B12 content of baboon tissues showed that the liver contained the highest concentration, followed by the pituitary, kidney, heart, spleen and pancreas.2. The dietary vitamin B12 requirement of the baboon for the maintenance of satisfactory body stores was between 1 and 2 μg/d.3. Satisfactory liver vitamin B12 stores were invariably associated with serum levels above 125 pg/ml, whereas liver levels were usually low when the serum level was below 50 pg/ml.4. Increased methylmalonic acid (MMA) excretion after a valine load occurred when the liver vitamin B12 level was less than 0·40 μg/g. L- and DL-valine were approximately equally effective as precursors of MMA, whereas sodium propionate, whether given orally or intra-peritoneally, was less effective.5. The distribution of radioactivity along the wall of the intestinal tract after an oral dose of [57Co]cyanocobalamin suggested that the distal half of the small intestine was the main site of vitamin B12 absorption. However, the utilization of vitamin B12 put direct into the middle part of the small intestine was much lower than that of an oral dose.6. The unsaturated vitamin B12-binding capacity of baboon serum was not related to the serum vitamin B12 level. There was a significant difference between the unsaturated vitamin B12-binding capacities of the two subspecies of baboon (Papio cynocephalus cynocephalus and P. cynocephalus anubis) studied.