What is Thiamine made of?
Thiamine or thiamin or vitamin B1 is a water-soluble vitamin of the B complex. All living organisms use thiamine in their biochemistry, but it is only synthesized in bacteria, fungi, and plants. Animals must obtain it from their diet, and, thus, for them, it is a vitamin. Thiamine is found in a wide variety of foods at low concentrations. Yeast, yeast extract (e.g., Marmite), and pork are the most highly concentrated sources of thiamine. In general, cereal grains are the most important dietary sources of thiamine, by virtue of their ubiquity. Of these, whole grains contain more thiamine than refined grains, as thiamine is found mostly in the outer layers of the grain and in the germ (which are removed during the refining process). Some other foods rich in thiamine are oatmeal, flax, and sunflower seeds, brown rice, whole grain rye, asparagus, kale, cauliflower, potatoes, oranges, liver (beef, pork, and chicken), and eggs.Its IUPAC name is:2-[3-[(4-Amino-2-methyl-pyrimidin-5-yl)methyl]-4-methyl-thiazol-5-yl] ethanol.Its chemical formula is C12H17N4OS.From the name, it is possible to decipher that its structure contains a aminopyrimidine ring and a thiazole ring with methyl and hydroxyethyl side chains linked by a methylene bridge.
