Written by Charles Gumbley, BHSc (Clinical Nutrition), DipHSc (Western Herbal Medicine)
Evidence checked: 20 July 2026
This article provides general nutrition education, not a diagnosis or personal supplement dose. Seek professional advice for persistent symptoms, severe malnutrition, a formula-based diet or a high-dose product.
Conflict disclosure: Nutrition Market sells supplements. No product is ranked or linked. The feed is suppressed because no plain, in-stock oral product has passed label, ARTG, dose, margin and placement gates.
Vitamin B5 is also commonly known as pantothenic acid. This water-soluble B vitamin helps make coenzyme A (CoA) and acyl carrier protein, supporting fat metabolism and reactions that use acetyl or acyl groups.
That biological importance does not show that a large supplemental amount improves energy, stress, skin, arthritis or heart health. For most Australians, varied food is the practical starting point.
Key points
- This vitamin helps form CoA, which is central to normal metabolism.
- Sources include liver, fish, eggs, dairy, whole grains, mushrooms, avocado, broccoli and legumes.
- Australian adult adequate intakes are 6 mg per day for men and 4 mg for women.
- Reported symptoms are nonspecific and mainly come from severe nutritional restriction.
- A related derivative has been studied at much larger amounts for cholesterol markers; it is not interchangeable with the ordinary vitamin.
- Australia has no upper level because evidence is insufficient, not because unlimited intake is proven safe.
Role of Pantothenic Acid and Coenzyme A
Dietary B5 is used to make CoA and a component of acyl carrier protein. CoA participates in fat synthesis and breakdown as well as many anabolic and catabolic pathways.
This role in energy metabolism explains how B5 helps turn food into energy. It is a cofactor, not a stimulant. This mechanism does not prove that extra intake improves brain function or stress tolerance.
B5 is distinct from vitamin B6 and vitamin B12. Supplements should not be treated as interchangeable merely because all three belong to the B group.
The vitamin circulates in red blood cells and is stored in tissues mostly as CoA. Routine testing is not generally used in healthy people, and symptoms alone cannot establish low status.
Vitamin B5 Foods and How Much Vitamin B5 You Need
Almost all foods provide some. Foods high in B5 include organ meats; Healthdirect lists lamb liver as a concentrated example. Salmon, eggs, dairy, whole grains, seeds, mushrooms, potatoes, avocado, broccoli and legumes also contribute.
Australia and New Zealand use an adequate intake because evidence is not strong enough to set a recommended dietary intake. The adult AI is 6 mg per day for men and 4 mg for women. It is 5 mg during pregnancy and 6 mg during lactation. These values guide intake of vitamin B5; they are not treatment doses.
A mixed diet will usually supply enough without a stand-alone product.
Vitamin B5 Deficiency Symptoms and Risk
Pantothenic acid inadequacy is extremely rare. Healthdirect says it is generally seen only with synthetic, formula-based diets. NIH describes cases in people fed diets containing virtually none or given a metabolic antagonist. People with severe malnutrition can also have several deficiencies at once.
Reported signs include headache, fatigue, irritability, restlessness, disturbed sleep, nausea, vomiting, cramping and burning or tingling feet. These signs have many causes; persistent or neurological symptoms need clinical assessment rather than a high-dose trial.
Pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration, or PKAN, is a rare inherited disorder caused by PANK2 gene variants. It is not ordinary dietary inadequacy, and an over-the-counter product is not an established treatment.
Pantothenic Acid Benefits: What Evidence Shows
The reliable benefit is correcting inadequate intake so CoA-dependent physiology can operate normally. No trials have shown that vitamin B5 is a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, weight loss, wound healing, wrinkles, acne, stress, depression or cardiovascular disease.
What about skin health? No good evidence shows that an oral product lightens skin. Topical panthenol evidence cannot be transferred to a swallowed form or used to support an acne, wrinkle or pigmentation treatment claim.
Cholesterol research needs a further distinction. Pantethine is a derivative rather than standard pantothenic acid. In a 2011 placebo-controlled trial, 120 adults followed a therapeutic lifestyle-change diet and took pantethine or placebo for 16 weeks. The 600 to 900 mg daily intervention produced small reductions in total and LDL cholesterol. The study did not test heart attacks, stroke or mortality. NIH says the standard vitamin does not appear to have the same effect and that more research is needed. A dietary supplement should not replace prescribed lipid-lowering care.
Vitamin B5 Supplements, Pantethine and Safety
The nutrient in dietary supplements commonly appears as calcium pantothenate, a form of pantothenic acid. Products may also use pantethine or combine it with other nutrients. These forms are not automatically equivalent.
NIH reports that multivitamins commonly provide about 10 mg, while products containing only pantothenic acid can provide much more. Amounts of vitamin B5 on imported labels should be read as milligrams per daily serve, not just as a percentage.
Australia has not set a tolerable upper intake level because available evidence cannot support a quantitative limit. This gap is not proof that any dose is safe. NIH reports mild diarrhoea and gastrointestinal distress with very large intakes, such as 10 g per day. Products providing hundreds of milligrams greatly exceed Australian AIs.
Check labels for duplicate intake from multivitamin, B-complex and stand-alone products. Using vitamin B5 during pregnancy, breastfeeding, childhood, severe illness or suspected deficiency warrants advice from a healthcare professional. Do not replace clinically indicated care with it.
Questions About Vitamin B5
What is the vitamin B5 good for?
Vitamin B5 helps make CoA and acyl carrier protein. Vitamin B5 may help when it corrects inadequate intake; extra intake has not been shown to create broad benefits in well-nourished people.
What are the symptoms of low vitamin B5?
Reported symptoms include headache, fatigue, irritability, restlessness, disturbed sleep, nausea, vomiting, cramping and burning or tingling feet. Low status is extremely rare and these signs have many causes, so assessment should come first.
Does vitamin B5 lighten skin?
No good clinical evidence shows that an oral B5 product lightens skin. Topical panthenol research does not prove that a swallowed supplement treats pigmentation, acne or wrinkles.
What food is highest in B5?
Organ meats are among the richest sources; Healthdirect lists lamb liver at 7 mg per 100 g. Salmon, eggs, dairy, meat, whole grains, mushrooms, sunflower seeds, avocado and broccoli also contribute. A varied pattern is more useful than eating one food solely for B5.
References
- National Health and Medical Research Council. Australian nutrient reference values. Accessed 20 July 2026.
- Healthdirect Australia. Vitamin B deficiency. Reviewed February 2026; accessed 20 July 2026.
- Healthdirect Australia. Vitamin B and your health. Accessed 20 July 2026.
- National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. Professional fact sheet. Updated 1 May 2026; accessed 20 July 2026.
- Rumberger JA, et al. 2011 placebo-controlled cholesterol-marker trial. Nutrition Research. 2011;31(8):608–615. doi:10.1016/j.nutres.2011.08.001.
Charles Gumbley founded Nutrition Market to make evidence-informed supplement guidance more accessible. He writes about supplement evidence and product selection for Nutrition Market. Site content is educational and not individual clinical advice.
