Pantothenic acid deficiency in animals with functioning rumens is unlikely because the vitamin is produced by ruminal microbial synthesis. Supplementation would be required for preruminants receiving milk replacers. Recommended pantothenic acid supplementation for calves receiving milk replacer is 13 mg per kg of dry matter (5.9 mg per lb) (NRC, 1989). In calves with pantothenic acid deficiency, intramuscular injections of 0.5 g of pantothenic acid the first day, followed by 0.1 g daily thereafter, corrected the deficiency in cases that were not too far advanced (Sheppard and Johnson, 1957).
Pantothenic acid is reportedly fairly stable in feedstuffs during long periods of storage (Scott et al., 1982). The authors indicate that heating during processing may cause considerable losses, especially if temperatures reach 100° to 150°C for long periods of time and pH values are above 7 or below 5. Gadient (1986) considers pantothenic acid to be slightly sensitive to heat, very sensitive to moisture and not very sensitive to oxygen or light. Pelleting was reported to cause only small losses of the vitamin. As a general guideline, pantothenic acid activity in pelleted feed stored for three months at room temperature should be 80% to 100% of the original value. Pantothenic acid stability in a vitamin premix was 98% after six months; however, when the premix contained choline and trace minerals, the residual activity of the vitamin was only 58% (Coelho, 1991).
