Dr. Roger Williams is responsible for much of the research done with this substance. Pantothenic acid is a constituent of co-enzyme A. Coenzyme A is essential for carbohydrate metabolism. Pyruvic acid and pantothenic acid are the starting substrates of the Krebs cycle which makes them critical for the series of enzymatic reactions involving oxidative metabolism of acetyl units and producing high-energy phosphate compounds, which serve as the main source of cellular energy.
Pantothenic acid is crucial for fat and cholesterol synthesis and energy metabolism. It is crucial for healthy hair and skin, adequate adrenal function, normal growth. A deficiency in pantothenic acid can cause loss of appetite, indigestion, abdominal pain, adrenal insufficiency, decrease in gastric secretion and a very typical sign is burning of feet and hands. Intestinal problems such as inflammation of the mucosa, inflammatory colitis then chronic colitis and finally ulcerative colitis are characteristic for a lack of this vitamin.
Pantothenic acid, together with PABA and choline is also thought to delay or reverse the thinning and graying of hair. In a study done with aging flamingos, the faded feathers turned bright pink again with pantothenic acid. Some people have reported the same effects, but it is not helpful for all.
Pantothenic acid is required for healthy adrenal glands and much safer than injections of cortisone. It may be labeled the ‘anti-stress hormone’.
As pantothenic acid has a beneficial influence on skin health, and in particular the treatment of acne and wound healing, supplementation and topical application of B5 cream can drastically reduce the development of blemishes, blackheads, pimples and all their unwanted relatives. Pantothenic acid brings about a decreased level of iron at the wound site. This hinders the formation of free radicals and increases synthesis of collagen and protein and speeds up wound healing.
The brain contains lots of pantothenic acid and a lack thereof can cause mental confusion, insomnia, fatigue, depression. However, the average American diet usually supplies plenty of pantothenic acid; sources are fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, fish, cereals, legumes. A deficiency in pantothenic acid is typically related to a general deficiency in B vitamins.
