THE SPECIFIC EFFECT OF VITAMIN BON GROWTH* By

from which they drew conclusions that the physiological effects of vita min B deficiency are essentially those of inanition or starvation. The lessened food intake, loss in weight, and fall in body temperature, they asserted, are all entirely the manifestations of inanition. The inference drawn, therefore, was that vitamin B produces growth only indirectly through stimulating the appetite. A careful analysis of the data of these investigators hardly justifies their sweeping conclusions as to the rôleof vitamin B in growth. In the first place they stated: A series of rats were fed daily on a complete artificial diet, plus 5 per cent yeast extract, in amounts of the order that it was estimated would have been voluntarily consumed had the ani mals been given an ample supply of the vitamin B-deficient ration. Control groups provided with an unlimited supply of the complete diet and the deficient ration were also observed. The general result of these tests was that the groups fed on the restricted ration of the complete dietary (ap proximately 1 gm. daily per 10 gm. body weight) maintained both body weight and temperature, whilst occasional estimations of oxygen consumption yielded values within the normal range