Thiamine, named as the "thio-vitamine" ("sulfur-containing vitamin"), is a vitamin of the B complex. Thiamine is found in a wide variety of foods at low concentrations. Yeast, yeast extract, and pork are the most highly concentrated sources of thiamine. In general, cereal grains are the most important dietary sources of thiamine, by virtue of their ubiquity. Thiamine hydrochloride (Betaxin) is a (when by itself) white, crystalline hygroscopic food-additive used to add a brothy/meaty flavor to gravies or soups. It is a natural intermediary resulting from a thiamine-HCl reaction, which precedes hydrolysis and phosphorylation, before it is finally employed (in the form of TPP) in a number of enzymatic amino, fatty acid, and carbohydrate reactions.
