Gray hair, pantothenic acid

Some of the unusual features of pantothenic acid noted by investigators include (1) it promotes amino add uptake (2) it is potentiated by zinc in preventing graying of hair in rats (3) it promotes resistance to stress of... 

Pantothenic acid deficiency in black and brown rats leads to a loss of fur color - at one time, pantothenic acid was known as the antigray hair factor. There is no evidence that the normal graying of hair with age is related to pantothenic acid nutrition, nor that pantothenic acid supplements have any effect on hair color. 

Pantothenic acid 1933 3-5 Transfer of acyl groups chick antidennatitis factor anti-gray-hair factor... 

A lack of pigment or graying of the hair. It occurs in rats as a result of pantothenic acid deficiency. The discovery of this condition led to the designation of pantothenic acid as the antigray hair vitamin. However, there is no evidence that it prevents the graying of hair in people. 

This designation was once given to pantothenic acid, one of the members of the vitamin B complex. In 1940, when pantothenic acid was first synthesized, it received widespread attention as a possible preventive for gray hair, since it had been observed that the black hair of a rat would turn gray when the animal was deprived of the vitamin, but subsequent studies did not reveal any such benefits to accrue to humans. (Also see PANTOTHENIC ACID.)... 

Before its structure was known, pantothenic acid was called by several other names, now obsolete, including filtrate factor, chick antidermatitis factor, bios factor, the anti-gray hair factor, pantothen, factor H, factor 2, vitamin B-x, vitamin B-2, vitamin B-3. 

A lack of pantothenic acid results in premature graying of the hair in piebald rats, foxes, and dogs. But, neither pantothenic acid nor any other nutritional factor has been shown to be involved in the graying of hair in humans. 

The combination of pantoic acid (a,7-dihydroxy- 8,/3-dimethylbutyric acid) and 8-alanine is also called pantothenic add, this name is derived from its nearly universal occurrence. Pantothenic acid is listed as one of the B vitamins. Pantothenic acid deficiency in experimental animals produces various symptoms (chicken pellagra, graying of hair in the rat) but in man deficiency diseases are not known. 

In various animals, experimental deficiency of pantothenic acid causes various pathological conditions (pellagra in chickens graying of hair in rats). True deficiency diseases are not known in man. A conjugate of pantothenic acid, pantetheine, is a growth factor for many microorganisms (the Lactobacillus htdgaricus factor ). 

---