THE ROLE OF "FOLIC ACID" AND BIOTIN IN THE UTILIZATION OF PANTOTHENIC ACID BY THE RAT.

The addition of succinylsulfathiazole to highly purified diets containing all dietary factors known to be required by the rat, including pantothenic acid, results in the appearance of signs of severe pantothenic acid deficiency, including achromotrichia and porphyrin-caked whiskers. These changes are accompanied by a marked reduction in the pantothenic acid content of the liver, and are corrected by the inclusion in such diets of crystalline biotin and "folic acid" concentrates. The utilization of pantothenic acid by the rat appears to depend on the availability of biotin and "folic acid." Under normal conditions these are supplied by the diet and synthesized by intestinal bacteria. A hypothesis is offered in explanation of the chromotrichial actions of "folic acid," biotin and p-aminobenzoic acid.