Vitamin B5

Pantothenic acid is found in two important coenzymes, coenzyme A (CoA) and acyl carrier protein (ACP), which are involved in many reactions in carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism. Pantothenic acid is widely distributed in feedstuffs of animal and plant origin. Alfalfa hay, peanut meal, cane molasses, yeast, rice bran, green leafy plants, wheat bran, brewer’s yeast, fish solubles and rice polishings are good sources of the vitamin for animals. Corn and soybean meal diets are apt to be low in pantothenic acid. Milling by-products such as rice bran and wheat bran are good sources, being two to three times higher than the respective grains. Biological availability of pantothenic acid is high from corn and soybean meal, but low from barely, wheat and sorghum (Southern and Baker, 1981).

A low ambient temperature has been reported to increase the requirement (Blair and Newsome, 1985).