Chapter 11 

 PANTOTHENIC ACID 



Page 



I, Nomenclature 591 



II. Chemistry 591 



A. Isolation 591 



B. Chemical and Physical Properties 596 



C. Constitution 597 



D. Synthesis 597 



III. Biochemical Sj'stems 598 



A. Introduction 598 



B. Identification of Pantothenic Acid as Part of Coenzj^me A 599 



1. CoA Assay 599 



2. Relation of the Enzymatically Determined CoA Unit to Its Panto- 

 thenic Acid Content 601 



3. Arsenolysis Assay 601 



4. Other CoA Assay Sj^stems 603 



C. The Chemistry of Coenzyme A 603 



1. Phosphate and Adenylic Acid Content 603 



2. The Sulfur-Containing Moiety 605 



3. Acetyl-CoA 607 



4. The Structure of CoA 608 



5. Preparation of CoA 609 



D. Some Nutritional Aspects of the CoA Problem 610 



1. Assa.v of Pantothenic Acid Based on the Methodology of Panto- 

 thenic Acid Liberation from CoA 610 



2. The Alkali Stability of "Natural Pantothenic Acid" 611 



E. Split Products of CoA as Microbial Growth Factors 611 



1. Pantothenic Acid Conjugate of Cheldelin 613 



2. Pantethine (Lactobacillus hulgaricus Factor) 613 



F. The Metabolic Function of CoA 614 



1. Distribution of CoA 614 



2. Acetyl and Acyl Transfer 615 



3. Fat and Steroid Synthesis 622 



G. Conclusion 624 



IV. Specificity of Action 626 



V. Biogenesis 627 



VI. Estimation 628 



A. Chemical and Phj-sical Methods 628 



B. Biological Methods 628 



1. Rat Growth Assays 629 



2. Chick Growth Assays 629 



3. Assays for Coenzyme A 630 



C. Microbiological Methods 630 



VII. Standardization of Activity 633 



589 



