The information resource about Nutrients, Probiotics and Food Supplements
Nutrient Details For : Pantothenic acid

A nutrient is any element or compound necessary for or contributing to an organism's metabolism, growth, or other functioning. Click name for details Arsenic Biotin Boron Calcium Carbohydrates Carnitine Carotenoids Chloride Choline Chromium Copper Energy Fiber Fluoride Folate Iodine Iron Lipids Magnesium Manganese Molybdenum Niacin Nickel Pantothenic acid Phosphorus Phyto-chemicals Potassium Protein Riboflavin Selenium Silicon Sodium Thiamin Vanadium Vitamin A Vitamin B 12 Vitamin B 6 Vitamin C Vitamin D Vitamin E Vitamin K Zinc Further Trace Elements

Pantothenic acid (PA), a B-complex vitamin, is essential for growth, reproduction, and normal physiological functions.

It is a precursor of the coenzymes, CoA and acl carrier protein of fatty acid synthase, which are involved in more than 100 different metabolic pathways including energy metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins and lipids, and the synthesis of lipids, neurotransmitters, steroid hormones, porphyrins and hemoglobin.

Deficiencies:

Pantothenic acid deficiency has been induced in animals when fed natural feedstuffs containing low levels of pantothenic acid. Deficient animals had growth retardation with reduced food intake, functional impairments in all systems and sudden death. Pantothenic acid deficiency results in gill lameller hypertrophy (clubbed gills) and high mortality rates in salmon, trout, catfish, and other farmed fish.

Pantothenic acid deficiency has also been induced in humans. Signs and symptoms reported include depression, personality changes, cardiac instability, frequent infection, fatigue, abdominal pains, sleep disturbances and neurological disorders including numbness, paresthesia (abnormal sensation such as "burning feet" syndrome), muscle weakness and cramps. Biochemical changes include increased insulin sensitivity, lowered blood cholesterol, decreased serum potassium, and failure of adrenocorticotropin to induce eosinopenia.

Recommendations:

The Dietary Reference Intakes for pantothenic acid are 1.7 mg for infants 0-0.5 yr; 1.8 mg for children 0.5-1 yrs; 2 mg for children 1 - 3 yrs; 3 mg for children 4 - 8 yrs; 4 mg for children 9 -13 yrs, 5 mg for adults, 6 mg for pregnant women, and 7 mg for lactating women. The average American diet provides 2-3 mg PA/1000 kcal or 4-6 mg PA/2000 kcal, which is within the range of the suggested intake.

Food sources:

Pantothenic acid is found in many foodstuffs. Good sources of the vitamin (0.25 to 1.4 mg/ serving) include organ meats, eggs, fish and shellfish, lobsters, poultry, soybeans, lentils, split peas, milk, yogurt, eggnog, avocado, mushrooms and sweet potatoes.

Pantothenic acid loss during processing is significant, as it is stable in neutral solution but is readily destroyed by heat in either alkali or acid.

Toxicity:

The only reported symptom after intakes of 10 to 20 g calcium pantothenic acid was diarrhea.

Recent research news:

A metabolic antagonist of pantothenic acid, pantoyl g-amino butyric acid (called pantoyl-GABA, homopantothenate, or hopantothenate), is widely used in Japan as an anti-dementia drug for treating cognitive impairments in pathological states such as Alzheimer's disease, presumably through increasing cholinergic activity in vivo.

Sponsors