PANTOTHENIC ACID AND COENZYME A IN THE ORGANS OF RATS IN PANTOTHENIC ACID DEFICIENCY AND ITS RECOVERY

The young albino rats of Wistar strain were fed on a pantothenic acid-deficient diet and in the state of deficiency and in the recovery period by supplementing with D-calcium pantothenate or DL-panthenol the change in body weights was studied. Further, the contents of free pantothenic acid were measured by microbioassay using L. arabinosus and of CoA by enzymatic formation of sorbyl-CoA. Both free pantothenic acid and CoA were reduced at the end of 3 week deficiency, the free values becoming almost 0. In the recovery state after receiving pantothenate or panthenol the levels of the free vitamin of both groups were somewhat higher than that of the control group, but the contents of CoA in organs were recovered almost to those of the control group. No difference between the two groups receiving pantothenate and panthenol was found.