Nutritional Achromotrichia. ∗

Several reports have appeared in the literature to indicate that there is a factor in the vitamin B complex which is concerned with the maintenance of normal hair pigmentation in piebald or black rats. Its identity or non-identity with the known members of the vitamin B complex has not been definitely established. 1 - 4 Morgan et al. 1 and Lunde and Kringstad 2 have classified it as one of the “filtrate factors.” Nicotinic acid and vitamin B₆ have been eliminated by Lunde and Kringstad. These workers also concluded from the lack of correlation between growth and achromotrichia that the chick antidermatitis factor was not concerned. 3 Morgan and Simms 4 found adrenal atrophy to occur simultaneously with the achromotrichia.

We became interested in this factor because of its possible relation to several rat factors being studied in this laboratory, namely, factor W, 5 pantothenic acid, 6 and the spectacled eye factor. 7 Thus far we have studied various concentrates of known potency in the above mentioned factors, using both the cure and prevention of achromotrichia as a test of their activity.

Piebald rats from our colony were used. The basal ration has the following composition: sucrose 67%, purified casein 18%, salts IIP 4%, butter fat 9%, and cod liver oil† 2%. In addition each rat received 10 gamma thiamin, 20 gamma riboflavin, and 10 gamma vitamin B₆ ‡ per day. The achromotrichia usually developed within 6-10 weeks in the rats receiving the basal ration alone or with an inactive supplement. Some of our results are given in Table I.

Liver extract§ was very effective at a level of 250 mg/day.