For growth and reproduction, the majority of animal species have a dietary requirement between 5 and 15 mg per kg (2.3 to 6.8 mg per lb) of diet. A low ambient temperature has been reported to increase the requirement (Blair and Newsome, 1985). Apparently there is a wide variation in pantothenic acid requirements among breeds and among animals within the same breed. Data from Michigan suggest that for one-half of growing pigs studied, 9.13 mg pantothenic acid per kg (4.2 mg per lb) of diet was sufficient for growth, whereas the remaining half required more than this but less than 13.5 mg per kg (6.1 mg per lb) (Luecke et al., 1953).
High fat levels may increase the pantothenic acid requirement (Sewell et al., 1962) of swine while high dietary protein has been suggested to decrease the requirement (Luecke et al., 1952). Nelson and Evans (1945) found that rats deficient in pantothenic acid fed a high-protein diet excreted more pantothenic acid and had accelerated growth and survival rates in comparison with rats fed a low-protein diet. The superiority of the high-protein diet may be due to the decreased level of dietary carbohydrate, which would presumably require coenzyme A for metabolism.
It has been suggested that antibiotics may have a sparing effect on the pantothenic acid requirement of animals. A dietary level of 22 mg per kg (10 mg per lb) Aureomycin (chlortetracycline) for weanling pigs (McKigney et al., 1957) and 10 mg per kg (4.5 mg per lb) of procaine penicillin for turkey poults (Slinger and Pepper, 1954) reduced the pantothenic acid requirement for these species. Certain amounts of B complex vitamins (including pantothenic acid) are synthesized in the large intestine of animals. It is doubtful, however, whether much benefit is derived as only limited pantothenic acid absorption occurs in the large intestine, with greatest benefit being in animals that practice coprophagy (Friesecke, 1975).
Interrelationships between other vitamins and pantothenic acid requirements are known: for example, those between pantothenic acid and vitamin B12, ascorbic acid and biotin (Scott et al., 1982). A fivefold increase in CoA content of liver was found in B12-deficient chicks and rats. Also, there have been suggestions of a possible interrelationship between folic acid and biotin with pantothenic acid. Both vitamins were found necessary for pantothenic acid utilization in the rat (Wright and Welch, 1943). The inclusion of biotin in the diet of a pantothenic acid-deficient pig was effective in prolonging the life of the pig, but caused the pantothenic acid deficiency signs to appear in half the time (Colby et al., 1948).
