An assay for pantothenic acid in biologic fluids.

ANTOTHENIC ACID DEFICIENCY reduces biologic actylations and leads to a variety of pathologic changes in blood cholesterol partition and antibody production. Deficiency affects particularly the adrenal cortex, nervous system, the skin, and hair; it also affects longevity (1, 2, 3, 4). The ubiquity of pantothenic acid (as suggested by its name), makes it difficult to demonstrate deficiencies, even if its need had not been thoroughly established from enzymatic studies (1, 5). With the aid of omega-methyl pantothenic acid, an effective antagonist, one can induce a deficiency of pantothenic acid, and so substantiate its essentiality for microorganisms, animals, and man (6, 7, 8). Because pantothenic acid participates in so many metabolic functions (9), it is important to have an assay for studying the extent of its deficiency in order to chart its clinical significance. This report deals with the microbiologic assay of pantothenic acid in whole blood, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), using Lactobaciltus plantarum and, for comparison, the ciliate Tetrahymena pyriformis.