Effects of Supplemental Pantothenic Acid During All or Part of the Grow-Finish Period on Growth Performance and Carcass Composition

Purdue University 2003 Swinw Research Report. Pantothenic acid (PA) is a component of coenzymne A, and is required in the diet of pigs at concentrations of 7 to 12 ppm (NRC, 1998). However, recent interest has surrounded the elevated supplementation of this vitamin and its potential effects on carcass lean. Stahly and Lutz (2001) observed a quadratic increase in estimated fat free lean (%) as PA supplementation increased from 0 to 120 ppm in the diet of pigs from wean to finish. Further research from this same group (Autrey et al., 2002) reported a linear increase in estimated fat free lean (%) as the level of supplemental PA was increased from 0 to 45 ppm from wean to finish. These studies indicate that pantothenic acid may be a very cost effective method of increasing carcass lean. However, the diets fed contained elevated levels of all B vitamins (6x NRC) and lysine. Therefore, the results observed may not accurately represent a commercial situation. Therefore, this study was designed to determine whether feeding elevated levels of PA during the whole grow-finish period or during the finisher period only has any effects on growth or carcass characteristics in typical commercial swine diets.