Accounting for the contribution of vitamin B to Canada's WWII effort

Canada began to fortify its flour and bread with vitamin B when it entered the Second World War. The decision was informed by the biology of vitamin B and therefore I suggest that the complexity of this political maneuver can best be understood by considering the specificity of the biochemistry of vitamin B. In this paper I will show that the specific biology of vitamin B allowed the Canadian government the possibility of a healthier population under wartime conditions but also allowed the government a variety of means by which to develop and organize food processing practices to this end.

Vitamin B-6 nutriture and plasma diamine oxidase activity in pregnant Hispanic teenagers

Vitamin B-6 status was assessed by measuring erythrocyte glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (EGPT) indices in 122 pregnant Hispanic teenagers. Seventeen percent were vitamin B-6 deficient (EGPT indices greater than 1.25) at the initial interview (first or second trimester). A daily supplement of 5 mg vitamin B-6, beginning at initial interview, did not reduce prevalence of vitamin B-6 deficiency at final interview (third trimester). No association was found between EGPT indices greater than 1.25 and the outcome of pregnancy. The activity of diamine oxidase (DAO), a vitamin B-6-dependent enzyme produced by the placental decidua, was measured in maternal plasma. At initial and final interviews, plasma-DAO activity was increased by in vitro addition of pyridoxal-5'-phosphate. The activity in early pregnancy was positively associated with dietary vitamin B-6 intake and was lower in teenagers with EGPT indices greater than 1.25 at the final interview. Findings suggest that plasma-DAO activity is influenced by vitamin B-6 status.