D-Pantothenic Acid Calcium Salt

D-Pantothenic acid is an essential vitamin (except in horses, ruminants). Pantothenic acid is involved in a number of biological reactions including: A precursor in the biosynthesis of coenzyme A, production of energy, catabolism of fatty acids and amino acids, synthesis of atty acids, phospholipids, sphingolipids, cholesterol and steroid hormones, synthesis of heme and the neurotransmitter acetylcholine and involved in regulation of gene expression and in signal transduction.

The principal biologically active forms of pantothenic acid are coenzyme A (CoA) and acyl carrier protein (ACP). In both CoA and ACP, the business center of the molecule is the pantothenic acid metabolite 4'-phosphopantetheine. Coenzyme A is comprised of 4'-phosphopantetheine linked by an anhydride bond to the nucloetide adenosine 5'-monophosphate. 4'-Phosphopantetheine itself is comprised of pantothenic acid linked at one end, via an amide bond, to beta-mercaptoethylamine, derived from L-cysteine, and at the other end to a phosphate group. The sulfhydryl group of 4'-phosphopantetheine, which is the business end of the coenzyme, forms thioesters with acyl groups producing acyl-CoA derivatives, including acetyl-CoA.

Pantothenic acid has found to have an effect on wound healing. Pantothenic acid and its derivatives, 4'-phosphopantothenic acid, pantothenol and pantethine, have been shown, in vitro, to protect cells against lipid peroxidation. This protective effect is thought to be due to its stimulation of increased cellular levels of coenzyme A. It has also been shown to increase levels of cellular reduced glutathione.