Pantothenic acid and biotin

GABRIELA CAMPOREALE, ROCIO RODRIGUEZ-MELENDEZ, JANOS ZEMPLENI

Sports Nutrition - Vitamins and Trace Elements

Taylor and Francis Group

Lugar: Boca Raton, Fl - EEUU; Año: 2006; p. 123 - 138

Pantothenic acid and biotin are water-soluble vitamins. In cells, pantothenic acid is converted to 4´-phosphopantetheine, which serves as a covalently linked coenzyme for acyl carrier protein (see below); 4´-phosphopantetheine is further converted to coenzyme A (CoA), which is a ubiquitous cofactor in intermediary metabolism. Biotin serves as a coenzyme for carboxylases, but also plays roles in chromatin structure and cell signaling. Pantothenic acid and biotin in vitamin supplements are obtained by chemical synthesis rather than by purification from natural sources. Isobutyraldehyde, formaldehyde, and cyanide are used as starting materials in the chemical synthesis of pantothenic acid; the intermediate D-pantolactone is condensed with β-alanine to produce pantothenic acid. Calcium salts of pantothenic acid are the most common commercial form of the vitamin. The chemical synthesis of biotin is based on using fumaric acid as a starting material.