ABSTRACT

Assessment of nutritional status can be done in a number of ways such as: physical examination of the subject for the presence or absence of signs and symptoms of vitamin deficiency, inquiry into dietary history, and laboratory tests on easily available body fluids such as blood and urine. An ideal biochemical test is one which can be carried out on easily available body fluids such as blood and urine. Urinary excretion of a vitamin or its metabolites is measured either in a random sample of urine, in the first voided morning sample, or in a 24-hr specimen. Blood levels, particularly plasma levels, may also reflect recent dietary intake, rather than the true state of tissue concentration. It has been possible to develop functional tests, in the case of the B-complex vitamins, since most of their biochemical functions are well established. Pantothenic acid is ubiquitously distributed in natural foods and therefore its deficiency is not regarded as a public health problem.