Effects of Dietary Fat Level on Pantothenate Depletion and Liver Fatty Acid Composition in the Rat

Abstract

Weanling male rats were fed a 6% or an 18% cottonseed oil diet, lacking pantothenate or supplemented with graded levels of pantothenate, to determine whether a high fat diet would accelerate the development of pantothenate deficiency or increase the pantothenate requirement for growth. The fatty acid composition of liver lipid fractions was also determined. Increasing the level of fat did not increase the pantothenate requirement for maximal growth or accelerate the development of the deficiency as indicated by body weight, adrenal weight, or onset and incidence of greying. Pantothenate deficiency with either the 6% fat or the 18% fat diet significantly lowered the relative proportions of phospholipid arachidonate and stearate. Liver CoA values in both the control and deficient groups fed the 18% fat diet were significantly lower than in the rats fed the 6% fat diet.