Prepared By: Martine Irog

Also called pantothenate or vitamin B5

Water-soluble vitamin

Discovered by Roger J. Williams in 1919

Its name derives from the Greek pantothen (πάντοθεν) meaning "from everywhere" and small quantities of pantothenic acid are found in nearly every food.

It is important for proper fat and carbohydrate utilization in the body and the making of adrenal hormones and red blood cells as it is used in the making of coenzyme A (CoA) and acyl carrier protein (ACP).

When found in foods, most pantothenic acid is in the

form of CoA or acyl carrier protein (ACP). For the intestinal

cells to absorb this vitamin, it must be converted into free

pantothenic acid. Within the lumen of the intestine, CoA and

ACP are hydrolyzed into 4'-phosphopantetheine. The 4'-

phosphopantetheine is then dephosphorylated into

pantetheine. Pantetheinase, an intestinal enzyme, then

hydrolyzes pantetheine into free pantothenic acid.

Free pantothenic acid is absorbed into intestinal cells

via a saturable, sodium-dependent active transport system. At

high levels of intake, when this mechanism is

saturated, some pantothenic acid may also be absorbed via

passive diffusion. As intake increases 10-

fold, however, absorption rate decreases to 10%.

Age group Age Requirements

Infants 0–6 months 1.7 mg

Infants 7–12 months 1.8 mg

Children 1–3 years 2 mg

Children 4–8 years 3 mg

Children 9–13 years 4 mg

Adult men and women 14+ years 5 mg

Pregnant women (vs. 5) 6 mg

Breastfeeding women (vs. 5) 7 mg

Daily

Requirement

Testicular torsion

Testicular torsion can severely affect fertility if

it occurs. One study on a rat model indicated a

treatment of 500 mg of dexpanthenol/kg body

weight 30 minutes prior to detorsion can greatly

decrease the risk of infertility after

torsion. Pantothenic acid has the ability to spare

reduced glutathione levels. Reactive oxygen

species play a role in testicular atrophy, which

glutathione counteracts.

Diabetic ulceration Foot ulceration is a problem commonly

associated with diabetes, which often leads to

amputation. A preliminary study completed by

Abdelatif, Yakoot and Etmaan indicated that

perhaps a royal jelly and panthenol ointment

can help cure the ulceration. People with foot

ulceration or deep tissue infection in the study

had a 96% and 92% success rate of

recovery. While these results appear promising,

they need to be validated, as this was a pilot

study; it was not a randomized, placebo-

controlled, double-blind study.

Hypolipidemic effects Pantothenic acid

derivatives, panthenol, phosphopantethineand pantethine, have also been seen to improve the lipid profile in the blood and liver. In this mouse model, they injected 150 mg of the derivative/kg body weight. All three derivatives were able to effectively lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL), as well as triglyceride (TG) levels; panthenol was able to lower total cholesterol, and pantethine was able to lower LDL-cholesterol in the serum. The decrease in LDL is significant, as it is related to a decrease the risk of myocardial infarction and stroke. In the liver, panthenol was the most effective, as it lowered TG, total cholesterol, free cholesterol and cholesterol-ester levels.

Wound healing A study in 1999 showed pantothenic acid has an

effect on wound healing in vitro. Wiemann and Hermann found cell cultures with a concentration of 100 μg/mL calcium D-pantothenate increased migration, and the fibers ran directionally with several layers, whereas the cell cultures without pantothenic acid healed in no orderly motion, and with fewer layers. Cell proliferation or cell multiplication was found to increase with pantothenic acid supplementation. Finally, increased concentrations of two proteins, both of which have yet to be identified, were found in the supplemented culture, but not in the control. Further studies are needed to determine whether these effects will stand in vivo.

Hair care Mouse models identified skin irritation and loss

of hair color as possible results of severe

pantothenic acid deficiency. As a result, the

cosmetic industry began adding pantothenic

acid to various cosmetic products, including

shampoo. These products, however, showed no

benefits in human trials. Despite this, many

cosmetic products still advertise pantothenic

acid additives.

Acne Following from discoveries in mouse trials, in the late

1990s, a small study was published promoting the use of pantothenic acid to treat acne vulgaris.

According to a study published in 1995 by Dr. Lit-Hung Leung, high doses of vitamin B5 resolved acne and decreased pore size. Dr. Leung also proposed a mechanism, stating that CoA regulates both hormones and fatty acids, and without sufficient quantities of pantothenic acid, CoA will preferentially produce androgens. This causes fatty acids to build up and be excreted through sebaceous glands, causing acne. Leung's study gave 45 Asian males and 55 Asian females varying doses of 10–20g of pantothenic acid (100000% of the US Daily Value), 80% orally and 20% through topical cream. Leung noted improvement of acne within one week to one month of the start of the treatment.

Obesity In a report published in 1997 by Lit-Hung Leung, it was

hypothesized that pantothenic acid also has an effect on weight management. Leung proposed that those who were deficient in pantothenic acid would feel the effects of hunger and weakness more strongly. To access fat storages in the body in times of fasting or dieting requires CoA. Diets high in pantothenic acid produce more CoA. In a study done on 100 Chinese individuals from age range 15–55 it was observed that on a diet of 1000 calories a day and 10 g pantothenic acid, the dieters could lose on average 1.2 kg/week with lessened effects from hunger or weakness. Ketone bodies in urine indicated that some dieters required more than 10 g of pantothenic acid a day. The possibilities of pantothenic acid in weight management have not been fully explored, but remain an area of research.

Diabetic peripheral polyneuropathy

Twenty-eight out of 33 patients (84.8%) previously treated with alpha-lipoic acid for peripheral polyneuropathy reported further improvement after combination with pantothenic acid. The theoretical basis for this is that both substances intervene at different sites in pyruvatemetabolism and are, thus, more effective than one substance alone. Additional clinical findings indicated diabetic neuropathy may occur in association with a latent prediabetic metabolic disturbance, and that the symptoms of neuropathy can be favorably influenced by the described combination therapy, even in poorly controlled diabetes.

Cholesterol and Triglyceride

Pantothenic acid was originally studied on rats.

Studies showed that those fed a diet with less

pantothenic acid were more likely to have higher

cholesterol. Pantethine, a more active form of

pantothenic acid, has been used to lower

cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Clinical trials

have shown that taking pantethine can lower

cholesterol by 19% and triglyceride levels by

32%. Although not all studies agree, pantethine

has also been shown to raise high-density

lipoprotein cholesterol (often referred to as

“good” cholesterol).

Examples of foods that have high amount of Pantothenic Acid

Avocado Meat

Royal Jelly Egg

Yogurt

Clover

Peas

Lentils

Beans

Peanuts

Soy

Did You know that Pantothenic acid can be lost in cooking -particularly with roasting or milling, as well as when exposed to acids like vinegar, or alkali such as baking

Pantothenic acid is present in all living cells with particularly high concentrations in the liver, kidney, adrenal gland, brain and heart.

Approximately 85% of pantothenic acid in food is present as coenzyme A. During digestion, coenzyme A is hydrolyzed in a series of enzymatic reactions to produce pantothenic acid which is then absorbed by passive diffusion or (at low levels) via a sodium dependent active uptake process.

As a water-soluble vitamin, up to 50% of pantothenic acid in food is lost during processing and cooking. It is relatively stable during storage.

The average dietary intake of pantothenic acid in the United States is 5 to 10 mg/day.

The principal supplemental form of pantothenic acid is synthetic calcium or sodium-D-pantothenate.

Panthenol (also called dexpanthenol and panthoderm) is the stable alcoholic form of pantothenic acid and is commonly available in haircare and skincare products. Panthenol is well absorbed through the skin and is rapidly enzymatically oxidized to pantothenic acid in the body.

Pantethine is a pantothenic acid derivative and is available in the United States as a supplement. Pantethine is sold as a drug in Europe and Japan used to lower cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations. Please see the Pantethine Vitamin & Herb University summary for more information.