Concentrations of thiamine and its phosphate esters in rat tissues determined by high-performance liquid chromatography.

Thiamine and its phosphate esters in rat tissues were determined by high-performances liquid chromatography after conversion to thiochrome and its phosphate esters as described previously (Ishii, K. et al. (1979) Anal. Biochem., 97, 191--195). Total thiamine concentrations determined in the brain, liver, heart and kidney were 6.39, 25.5, 15.7, and 14.9 nmol/g wet weight, respectively. In all the tissues tested, thiamine, its monophosphate, pyrophosphate, and triphosphate were found to be present at the rates of 1.2--7.7, 5.9--11.0, 85.7--90.0, and 0.7--1.6%, respectively. Although these percentages of thiamine phosphates were similar to those reported previously using different procedures, the percentage of thiamine triphosphate content in rat tissues was found to be fairly lower than that reported. The time required for the whole process of analysis averaged 90 min after isolation of the organs from the animal.