Antagonism of Salicylate by Pantoyltaurine.

Like pantothenic acid, pantolactone, and the pantoate ion, pantoyltaurine and other pantothenic acid analogues of this type antagonize the inhibitory effect of salicylate on E. coli. It is suggested that the active antagonist in a solution of such an analogue is pantolactone or pantoate. These (particularly the former) could conceivably be contaminants of the analogues. However, the liberation of pantoate by hydrolysis, appears to be a more likely explanation for the antisalicylate effect. The presence of pantolactone or pantoate in a solution of pantoyltaurine and similar analogues of pantothenic acid provides a possible explanation for the ineffectiveness of these drugs in inhibiting the growth of microorganisms which can utilize pantolactone or pantoate for the synthesis of pantothenic acid.