Efficacy of Pantothenic Acid as a Modifier of Body Composition in Pigs

Iowa State University Animal Industry Report 2004. Currently, vitamin requirements of swine are largely based on the dietary concentration of a particular vitamin that results in maximum growth of the pigs being evaluated. However, much of the research that these vitamin requirements are based on was conducted in the 1950s and 60s. Since that time, pigs have become more efficient meatproducing animals with an ability to grow more rapidly and to produce more proteinaceous tissue per kg of body weight gain. Stahly et al. (1995) have shown that higher concentrations of one or more of group of five B vitamins (niacin, pantothenic acid, riboflavin, B12, and folic acid) are needed to optimize rate and efficiency of growth in a high vs. moderate lean strain of pig. These results indicate the dietary need for some vitamins may vary among pigs differing in their capacity for proteinaceous tissue growth.