Marmite vitamin could hold key to recovery from heart attack

A derivative of vitamin B1 could speed up healing of tissue and increase the chance of survival following heart damage, a new study suggests.

Separate research also found the substance, called benfotiamine, can slow down the progression to heart failure in diabetics, which is a complication of the illness.

Developing a supplement containing benfotiamine could cut the number of diabetics developing heart failure, researchers said.

Vitamin B1 is also known as thiamin and is found in most types of food. Good sources include Marmite, Quorn, pork, vegetables, milk, cheese, peas, fresh and dried fruit, eggs, wholegrain breads and some fortified breakfast cereals.

Both pieces of research into the vitamin were carried out by a team from the University of Bristol.

They gave benfotiamine in a synthetic form to mice, some of which had diabetes and some of which did not. The study found that benfotiamine improved survival and healing after heart attacks in both types of mice.

Writing in the Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology, they said treatment "markedly improved the survival of both non-diabetic (80 per cent) and diabetic mice (50 per cent)" compared with mice given no treatment.

In a separate study, the team found that treating diabetic mice with benfotiamine from the early stages of the condition could delay progression to heart failure.

Prof Paolo Madeddu, who led the research, said the derivative plays a crucial role in helping the heart recover.

Heart damage following a heart attack occurs when glucose is converted into toxins but benfotiamine helps the body dispose of these toxins, he said.

The finding is especially important for diabetics because research has shown they already have around 75 per cent lower levels of vitamin B1 than people without the condition.

Experts think this may not be due to poor diet but to the rate at which the vitamin is cleared from the body in people with diabetes.

Small clinical trials of diabetics have also found that taking vitamin B1 supplements could reduce kidney disease, which is a complication of the condition.

Diabetes comes in two forms. Type 1 usually develops in adolescence, is unconnected to lifestyle reasons, and affects about 300,000 people in the UK.

Meanwhile, more than two million people are diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, which is linked to obesity and unhealthy lifestyles, and is on the rise.

Prof Madeddu said: "More research is needed into these effects but we found the vitamin had a positive effect both in diabetic and non-diabetic mice.

"Supplementation with benfotiamine also helped prevent cardiovascular disease in mice with both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

"We conclude that benfotiamine could be a novel treatment for people with diabetes, and the next step in this research will be testing whether similar effects are seen in humans."

Around half of people with diabetes die from heart disease, and experts are warning of a new "epidemic" of heart failure in those with the condition.

About one in 20 people in the UK are now diagnosed with diabetes but more than a million are unaware they have it.

Diabetes means less oxygen and nutrients get to vital organs, including the heart, therefore increasing the stress they are under.

Dr Victoria King, head of research at Diabetes UK, which funded the study, said: "Diabetes UK is pleased to have supported this research and is encouraged by these promising results."