Exposure of adult rats to a cold environment increased the coenzyme A (CoA) extractable from their livers. The increases, in rats fed a complete diet, were found within 3 days, and were larger the longer the duration of exposure, amounting to 6, 27, and 60% above the control values after 3, 17, and 24 days respectively. The relations were similar when the CoA from the liver was expressed per unit weight of fresh tissue, or of liver total solids, or of whole body. When rats were fed a diet deficient in pantothenic acid, exposure to cold also resulted in elevation of CoA in the liver, but the differences did not progress with the duration of exposure. The liver CoA was further increased by the addition of large amounts of ascorbic acid to both the complete and the pantothenate-deficient diets. This effect of ascorbic acid occurred in rats under both ordinary and cold environmental conditions. Exposure to cold did not alter the concentration of CoA in the adrenal glands, but caused enlargement of the glands so that the amount of CoA in the adrenal per unit weight of the whole body increased. Other alterations in these animals exposed to cold included enlargement of the kidneys and heart, and decrease in depot fat. Deficiency of pantothenate in the diet slowed the rate of growth of young rats and significantly reduced the levels of CoA in the liver and the adrenal glands.
Ascorbic Acid and Acetylsalicylic Acid (Aspirin) in the Diet of Broilers Maintained Under Heat Stress Conditions