Vitamin utilization status in chronic alcoholics.

Chronic alcoholics are very often found to be deficient in vitamins. The object of the study was to assess the vitamin utilization of twelve drinking chronic alcoholics after intravenous therapy with polyvitamins. The following enzyme activation tests in red blood cells were used: a) Erythrocyte transketolase (ETK) activity for B1; b) Glutathione reductase (EGR) activity for B2; c) Pyridoxal-5-phosphate (PALP)--the active metabolite of vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) was directly estimated in red blood cells. Seven out of 12 patients were deficient in B1 before treatment; 6/12 in B2 and 11/12 in PALP. But all returned to normal after treatment; mean plus or minus SD of ETK activation co-efficient improved from the pre-treatment level of 1.174 plus or minus 0.135 to 1.001 plus or minus 0.009 (adequate less than or equal to 1.15); mean plus or minus SD of EGR activation coefficient from 1.265 plus or minus 0.333 to 1.015 plus or minus 0.072 (adequate less than or equal to 1.19) and PALP rose from 6.78 plus or minus 6.47 to 60.68 plus or minus 85.85 after treatment (adequate = vv10-20 ng/ml). These observations indicate the need for relevant vitamin supplementation in chronic alcoholics and also support the inclusion of intravenous polyvitamins in conventional detoxification regime for chronic alcoholics.