The Effect of a Pyridoxine Deficiency on Cold-Adjusted Rats

Ninety-one rats of which 49 were kept at 25°C and 42 at 5°C were fed a pyridoxine-free diet until growth ceased. Following this, graded levels of pyridoxine were fed for 28 days at both temperatures. Food intake and growth were measured. It was found that the pyridoxine requirement, expressed as micrograms per gram of food, was slightly greater in the cold. Growth rate appeared to be more dependent upon appetite than on efficiency of food utilization. Food intake in the cold rats was characteristically depressed by the vitamin deficiency while being simultaneously stimulated by the low environmental temperature.