composition were based on microbiological assays for pantothenic acid. A high-performance liquid chromatography method was published relatively recently and has been used for the analysis of pantothenic acid in infant formulas (Romera et al., 1996). However, data on the pantothenic acid content of food regardless of method are very limited. Chicken, beef, potatoes, oat cereals, tomato products, liver, kidney, yeast, egg yolk, broccoli, and whole grains are reported to be major sources of pantothenic acid (Plesofsky-Vig, 1996; Walsh et al., 1981). Royal bee jelly and ovaries of tuna and cod have very high levels of pantothenic acid (Robinson, 1966), but refined grains, fruit products, and meats and fish with added fats or cereal extenders appear to be lower in pantothenic acid content. Freezing and canning of vegetables, fish, meat, and dairy products has been shown to decrease the pantothenic acid content of those foods (Schroeder, 1971). Processing and refining grains resulted in a 37 to 74 percent loss of pantothenic acid (Walsh et al., 1981).

The major surveys of nutrient intake used in this report (the U.S. Department of Agriculture Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals, the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, and the Boston Nutritional Status Survey) do not estimate the pantothenic acid intake from diet, largely because of the incompleteness of data on the pantothenic acid content of food. Usual daily intakes of about 4 to 7 mg have been reported quite consistently in small groups of adolescents and adults of various ages (Bull and Buss, 1982; Kathman and Kies, 1984; Srinivasan et al., 1981; Tarr et al., 1981). Data from a survey conducted in one province in Canada indicated median daily intakes of pantothenic acid from foods of approximately 5 mg for men and 4 mg for women (Santé Québec, 1995).

Results from the 1986 National Health Interview Survey indicate that 22 percent of U.S. adults took a supplement containing pantothenic acid (Moss et al., 1989).