The content of total pantothenic acid (PaA) in two foodstuffs of microbial origin was measured by standard microbiological and chick biological assays. 2. Substantially and consistently higher values were found by the chick assay than by the microbiological determination, indicating that PaA-containing compounds were present that were not utilized by the test micro-organisms but were available for chicks. Attempts to identify these compounds did not explain the source of excess PaA activity for the chick. 3. It is suggested that forms for PaA that are undetected by standard methods of microbiological assay differ from one food to another and require different treatments to make the vitamin available to the assay organism.
