Dietary supplementation of the water-soluble B vitamin pantothenic acid (also known sometimes as vitamin B5) is most commonly provided by d-calcium pantothenate. This vitamin supplement is found on most every pet food ingredient statement, but we do not often hear much about it, which seems somewhat surprising given pantothenic acid is at the center of intermediary metabolism and many synthetic processes in the body. Considering its importance, perhaps it would be valuable to explore this vitamin in more depth to determine how we should address its fortification in the diet; especially as more pressure gets exerted by external forces asking us to eliminate or justify every additive.
Pantothenic acid was first described in 1931 by Roger Williams as an acidic substance required by yeast. He named it after the word pantothen meaning “from everywhere” in Greek because the molecule was ubiquitous in foods. In nature, pantothenic acid is produced by plants and some microorganisms but not by animals. Yet animals require it in small quantities for normal physiological functions.
