All the cells in your body need vitamin B₅, or pantothenic acid. It is a water-soluble B vitamin that is converted by the body into a compound called coenzyme A, which your body needs to change food into energy. Vitamin B₅ is also known as the "anti-stress" vitamin because it supports the healthy functioning of your adrenal glands, the organs that help your body cope with all types of stress. Vitamin B₅ is needed for proper nerve and muscle action, and it is vital to maintaining a healthy immune system. It also seems to help decrease the painful symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.

• Some health care providers recommend taking vitamin B₅ for fatigue, allergies, asthma, psoriasis, or other chronic illness, or if you have a very active or stressful lifestyle. Vitamin B₅ has not been proved useful for these conditions.
• Taking vitamin B₅ seems to help reduce the pain, swelling, and stiffness of rheumatoid arthritis and to improve wound healing, especially after surgery.
• Pantethine seems to help lower blood lipids (fats, cholesterol, and triglycerides) and speed up the detoxification process.

Pantothenic acid gets its name from the Greek work pantos, meaning "everywhere," because it is available in a wide variety of foods. A lot of vitamin B₅ is lost in processing, so fresh meats, vegetables, and whole unprocessed grains have more vitamin B₅ than refined, canned, and frozen food. The best sources are brewer's yeast, whole-grain breads and cereals, mushrooms, liver, dried beans and peas, avocados, fish, chicken, nuts (pecans, hazelnuts), peanuts, cauliflower, milk and cheese, potatoes, oranges, bananas, and eggs.

Vitamin B₅ is included in most B-complex vitamins. It is also available in single supplement form as calcium pantothenate, which is 92% pantothenic acid and 8% calcium. It is available in 100-, 250-, and 500- mg capsules.

Individual needs for vitamin B₅ vary according to food intake and the amount of stress (physical, environmental, or emotional/mental) in one's life.

Daily intakes of dietary vitamin B₅ that are considered adequate under general circumstances are listed below:

Pediatric

• Infants birth to 6 months: 1.7 mg
• Infants 6 months to 1 year: 1.8 mg
• Children 1 to 3 years: 2 mg
• Children 4 to 8 years: 3 mg
• Children 9 to 13 years: 4 mg
• Adolescents 14 to 18 years: 5 mg

Adult

• 19 years and older: 5 mg
• Pregnant females: 6 mg
• Lactating females: 7 mg

Therapeutic dosage recommendations for adults range from 250 to 500 mg of pantothenic acid daily for general adrenal support to 2,000 mg daily for rheumatoid arthritis. The recommended dose of pantethine for lowering cholesterol and triglycerides is 300 mg three times daily (900 mg/day). Take with water, preferably after eating, or according to your healthcare provider's recommendation.

There are no known interactions or side effects associated with taking vitamin B₅ supplements. It is recommended that you take vitamin B₅ along with other B vitamins to reduce the possibility of a B-vitamin imbalance in your system.

No noteworthy interactions (positive or negative) between pantothenic acid and conventional medications are known to have been reported in the literature to date.

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