Vitamin E Deficiency in The Monkey X. Protoporphyrin and Haeme Synthesis by Peripheral Blood and Bone Marrow

In vitro studies of porphyrin and haeme synthesis by bone marrow cells from vitamin E‐deficient monkeys indicate that vitamin E is required for the normal synthesis of these compounds. The defect in porphyrin synthesis apparently results from abnormal delta‐aminolaevulinic acid synthesis. This defect was not found in the reticulocytes of peripheral blood. The administration of vitamin E corrected the abnormality in porphyrin synthesis, but the addition of vitamin E in vitro did not. Coenzyme Q10 administration also resulted in increased porphyrin synthesis by the bone marrow cells of vitamin E‐deficient monkeys.