From:
sukiec@optonline.com
Date: 2003-01-12 00:01:06 UTC
Subject: RE: vitamin B5
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <21068350.1042329666915.JavaMail.root@scandium>
While it can certainly be true that nutrients in diets may need adjusting there are are things to remember:
1. Cure alls just don't exist.
2. It is very common in nutritional studies to find that some of the symptoms of too much of a given nutrient are the same ones seen with too little of that nutrient, but I did NOT find such a situation reported for this vitamin, though large doses can interfere with the uptake of biotin.
Remember that I do not have an advanced degree in this field and that there are therefore gaps in my knowledge, but note a few things that may or may not be of interest.
B5, Pantothenic Acid, is (like certain other nutrients) involved in the production of energy; the catabolism of fatty acids and amino acids; the synthesis of fatty acids, phospholipids, sphingolipids, cholesterol, and steroid hormones (note that adrenal disease in ferrets is instead hyperestogenism unlike multiple other species), the synthesis of heme; the synthesis of acetylcholine, the creation of melatonin, etc. It also seems to be involved in genetic expression and in signal transduction.
The name is from "pantos" which means "everywhere" because it is so widely found in foods of many types. Some items with a lot of it include organ meats, egg yolk, avocado, cashews, peanuts, brown rice, soya, lentils, broccoli, milk, Royal Jelly, and Brewers Yeast, with the last two typically being very high according to the _PDR for Nutritional Supplements_. In those of us with a lot of intestinal flora (likely not so much in ferrets since their digestive process is so fast) it is also acquired from those symbiotes. Cod and tuna are very high in it.
Deficiency is rare in humans but here are some symptoms in case any carry over across species: numbness in toes and a painful burning in the feet, headache, fatigue, insomnia, paresthesias of the hands and feet, impaired antibody system, elevated sedimentation rate, etc. That doesn't really sound like a typical ferret problem to me personally which may or may not mean anything.
There are a number of hypothetical uses but not all have panned out. For instance, on study it did not cause any reduction in graying or loss of hair. One thing for which is shows promise is rheumatoid arthritis (but no other form of arthritis and then the most benefit was among vegetarians). Wound healing was not any different than without more of it in study. Exercise claims failed in multiple studies.
End of ferrethealth Digest
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