Assay of Pantothenic Acid
The growth rate of chicks has been used to determine the pantothenic acid content of various products. It is a time-consuming procedure, and although still in use, it has largely been replaced by microbiological methods, especially since the development of more nearly ptimal methods for releasing the bound vitamin from its firm combination (such as coenzyme A) in plant and animal materials. Certain organisms show a growth response (vitamin effect) to the B-alanine part of the molecule and others to the pantoic acid methyl. Such ,rganisms synthesize pantothenic acid if supplied with a part of the molecule. An improved technique using L. casei was described by Clarke.
A method for estimating CoA in tissues, involving enzymatic liberation of pantotheine and microbiological assay of this substance and free pantothenic acid, was reported by Wolff and others. Brown has devised methods for the estimation of pantothenic acid, phosphopantotheric acid, pantotheine phospho enzyme and coenzyme A in a single sample. The major pantothenic acid-containing found in animal tissues and in microorganisms was CoA, although phosphopamezeme to from 10 to 25 per cent that of CoA in some tissues and was actually higher kidney.
