Effect of thiamine deficiency and undernutrition on the lipid composition of rat spinal cord at 21 days of age.

Maternal thiamine deficiency and undernutrition are found to cause significant deficits in body and spinal cord weights of the offspring at 21 days of age. The concentration of different lipids is found to be decreased significantly in both experimental groups as compared to normal controls. However, these deficits do not seem to differ between the undernourished and the thiamine-deficient groups. The results suggest a general effect of growth retardation rather than thiamine deficiency per se on the lipid composition of spinal cord.