Evidence: Reasonable Potential Benefits: High Safety:Very High
TABLE OF CONTENTS
What is calcium pantothenate?
Calcium pantothenate is the most popular form of vitamin B5 supplements on the market. It naturally occurs in many foods and is very well absorbed by the body. Calcium pantothenate also provides a small amount of calcium (around 8%). However, we excluded calcium from the benefits and side effects mentioned in this article since you won’t get a meaningful amount of calcium from calcium pantothenate unless you take very high doses. This article is about the main benefits of calcium pantothenate, its potential side effects, the best time to take it, and more.
Potential benefits
It is important to note that all of the potential benefits mentioned below are dose-dependent. Generally, the higher the dose, the more pronounced the effects are. However, they do reach a plateau at a certain point. We will discuss the best dosing protocol later in this article.
Major benefits
Correcting a vitamin B5 deficiency – Vitamin B5 deficiency can be terrible for your health and overall quality of life. Fortunately, a severe deficit is relatively rare. A mild deficiency is much more common and can lead to many problems mentioned later in the article. If you are experiencing symptoms of deficiency or know that your pantothenic acid levels are too low, correcting a deficiency is the main benefit of calcium pantothenate supplements.
Minor benefits
Reduced oxidative damage – In microorganisms, many supplemental forms of vitamin B5, including calcium pantothenate, were able to slightly reduce oxidative damage and lipid peroxidation.
Reduced acne – Very high doses of pantothenic acid (2-10 grams daily) may reduce acne. However, the only human studies that exist so far on the relationship between vitamin B5 and acne also used 733 mg of L-carnitine. Therefore, this benefit may not apply to pantothenic acid itself.
Improved wound healing – Pantothenic acid can be used topically to improve wound healing. However, this benefit is not as notable as with many other creams or oral supplements.
Improved cognition – Pantothenic acid doesn’t directly improve cognition beyond the baseline, but it is a necessary nutrient for the production of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter responsible for many cognitive functions. Choline from food, as well as cholinergic supplements, such as Alpha-GPC, are precursors for acetylcholine. Pantothenic acid is needed for this conversion. When your vitamin B5 levels are low, you will not be able to produce acetylcholine from cholinergics as effectively. Pantothenic acid is also necessary for the production of other neurotransmitters, such as serotonin.
Reduced stress and anxiety – This benefit also has to do with the ability of pantothenic acid to help create serotonin and acetylcholine.
Unproven benefits
There is not enough evidence that calcium pantothenate notably affects these health metrics, or the science shows little to no efficacy in these areas.
Reduced total cholesterol – At least one form of supplemental vitamin B5, pantethine, has been shown to lower cholesterol levels when 300 mg were taken 3 times a day. Whether or not this effect improves cardiovascular health and leads to a reduced risk of heart disease is still unclear. This effect could apply to other forms of supplemental pantothenic acid, such as calcium pantothenate, but it has not yet been proven.
Blood pressure – There is no high-quality evidence that the supplements affect blood pressure to any significant degree.
DNA protection – The supplement has not been shown in human studies to protect DNA from oxidative damage.
Inflammation – The supplement doesn’t significantly affect CRP (C-reactive protein) or other markers of inflammation.
Triglycerides – There is no significant influence, or at least it has never been observed.
Testosterone – The supplement does not significantly affect DHT, free testosterone, or total testosterone levels.
Cancer – The supplement has never been shown in reliable human studies to affect cancer rates or tumor growth.
Thyroid hormones – There is no significant interaction between the supplement and serum T3 and T4.
Well-being – Supplementation with calcium pantothenate doesn’t appear to increase subjective well-being. However, the supplement could improve your well-being if you are deficient.
Weight loss and fat loss – Taking the supplement doesn’t notably affect weight loss or burning of fat.
Strength and muscle growth – The supplement does not help you increase strength or muscle mass faster. Reliable human studies have never shown this effect.
Asthma – The supplement has not been shown to help with asthma to a significant degree.
Power output during exercise – The supplement does not directly influence power output during aerobic or resistance training. It does not impact VO2 max or aerobic endurance either.
Kidney function – The supplement does not significantly change kidney function biomarkers.
Metabolic rate – The supplement does not speed up your metabolism or slow it down.
Possible side effects
These side effects are dose-dependent. The risk for them increases (often linearly but sometimes exponentially) as you increase the dose. Some of the side effects only apply to very high doses.
Skin irritation and eczema – This side effect is exclusive to topical creams and very rare.
Reduced biotin levels – While this is just an unproven theory, high doses of pantothenic acid could worsen your biotin status.
Contamination – Contaminated supplements are uncommon in the USA and other well-regulated countries. However, if you wish to buy products from China, India, or other countries without strict regulations, beware that the supplements may be contaminated. Either way, you need to choose the brand you order from wisely. It is highly recommended to check the certificates or read through some reviews for the specific product before you buy it. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has the power to regulate dietary supplements but can only do so after they have been on the market for a while. That’s because supplement companies are not obligated to announce to the FDA when releasing a new product on the market. The FDA has to discover the product and test it for potential impurities, which can take a lot of time. During that time, the supplement can be sold on the market even if it’s impure. Also, the supplement companies can change their manufacturers at any time without announcing it to the FDA.
Who should not take calcium pantothenate?
You should probably avoid taking the supplement if you:
already consume the optimal amount of vitamin B5 from food (10+ mg)
experience a severe adverse reaction after taking the supplement
are on a tight supplement budget (since there are more cost-effective supplements on the market for most people)
Who will benefit the most?
You should consider taking the supplement if you:
experience symptoms of deficiency, or you know you are deficient based on blood tests
don’t get enough vitamin B5 from food (the easiest way to find out how much of the nutrient you are getting in your diet is to track your food intake for a while with Cronometer.com)
drink lots of alcohol (since alcohol significantly increases your need for vitamin B5)
are a pregnant or breastfeeding woman (if you are pregnant, you need around 1 mg more per day and breastfeeding women need around 2 mg more)
have a high budget for supplements (assuming that the supplement doesn’t contain impurities, it appears to be safe in most cases and rarely does more harm than good if you stick to regular doses)
Other forms of vitamin B5 supplements
The forms of vitamin B5 supplements include:
Calcium pantothenate – This is the most popular form on the market and it naturally occurs in many foods as well. Calcium pantothenate is very well absorbed and cheap, which is why you probably want to choose this form instead of the other ones. Calcium pantothenate also provides a small amount of calcium (around 8%).
Sodium pantothenate – This form is almost identical to calcium pantothenate. The main difference is that you won’t get any calcium from the supplement. This can be seen as both a good thing and a bad thing, depending on an individual.
Pantethine – While this form is not natural, it breaks down to natural forms in your intestines. This form is just as good if not better than calcium pantothenate and sodium pantothenate at supplying pantothenic acid. Pantethine is also better than other forms for lowering cholesterol. 300 mg 3 times a day is effective for this purpose. However, whether or not this effect leads to a reduced risk of heart disease is still unclear.
Dexpanthenol – Also known as D-Panthenol, this is a topical form designed to be stable in creams and lozenges. It’s used to speed up wound healing. The creams go on injured skin and the lozenges are for injured tissue within the mouth or throat. Once they dissolve, the dexpanthenol converts to pantothenic acid.
All those options are almost equally as good so if you are on a budget, the cheapest form (calcium pantothenate in most cases) is the way to go. If you have a lot of money to spend on supplements, pantethine is probably a better choice.
Symptoms of vitamin B5 deficiency
The most common signs of deficiency include:
fatigue
lack of enthusiasm
anger
mood swings
acting childish
numbness of hands and feet
walking differently
insomnia
faster heart rate
nausea, throwing up more often
gut problems
farting more often
muscle cramps
Keep in mind that these signs are just indications of a deficiency. If you experience some of them, it does not necessarily mean you need more vitamin B5. On the other hand, some people may be deficient even though they are completely asymptomatic.
With that said, if you experience many or most of these symptoms, there is a high chance that you are not getting enough vitamin B5. The more of these symptoms you have and the more severe they are, the more likely you are to have a deficiency.
How much calcium pantothenate should you take?
The AI (adequate intake) for this nutrient is 5 mg daily for most adults, 6 mg for pregnant women, and 7 mg for lactating women. Unfortunately, there is almost no evidence supporting that this is the optimal amount to shoot for.
While 5 mg should be enough to prevent symptoms of clinical deficiency, we do not know yet if this amount is enough for optimal health. There is a case to be made that for most individuals, shooting for 10 mg is a better idea.
Also, some things increase your need for vitamin B5. These include high-fat diets (by around 10%), lactating (by around 2 mg), alcohol, pregnancy, very rare genetic defects, poor digestion, etc.
10 mg appears to be the best dose to take for most people. This amount should provide most if not all the benefits. However, even higher get absorbed by the body so they may be of extra benefit. If you have a high budget for supplements, 50-100 mg may be superior.
Higher doses than that may be somewhat effective for reducing two things: acne and pain in rheumatoid arthritis. For rheumatoid arthritis, 1 gram has been used in some studies. For acne, doses of 2-10 grams have been tested with insignificant results.
Pantothenic acid supplements are extremely safe even at very high doses. The upper safety has never been discovered and probably doesn’t exist.
Unless you are trying to correct a severe deficiency or you are taking calcium pantothenate to reduce pain in rheumatoid arthritis, taking more than 10 mg daily should not be necessary. That being said, doses as high as 900 mg have little to no reported side effects.
Food sources of vitamin B5
Most whole foods contain decent amounts of vitamin B5 but only some are rich enough sources to help you get 10 mg a day, which would be the optimal amount to shoot for.
Unfortified nutritional yeast is by far the richest food source of vitamin B5. 2 heaping teaspoons should provide 10 mg. The second richest source is organ meat. Most of them provide enough vitamin B5 in a 300+ gram (10+ oz) serving.
The easiest way to find out how much vitamin B5 you are getting in your diet is with Cronometer.com – this free app allows you to track all vitamins, minerals, and more.
Keep in mind that a lot of B5 gets destroyed by heat, processing, and storage. If you are going to track how much of this vitamin you are consuming with an app like Cronometer, input the foods in the form you are eating them. If canned, input canned. If cooked, input cooked.
Best time to take calcium pantothenate
Calcium pantothenate is water-soluble and you do not need to take it with food to absorb it well.
Whether you take the supplement in the morning or the evening doesn’t matter. It does not interrupt your sleep in any way.
Interactions with other substances
Choline Choline from food, as well as cholinergic supplements, such as Alpha-GPC and CDP-choline, are precursors for acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter responsible for many cognitive functions. Vitamin B5 is needed for this conversion. When your vitamin B5 levels are low, you will not be able to produce acetylcholine from cholinergics as effectively.
Alcohol Alcohol increases your need for vitamin B5, as well as some other B vitamins.
Where to buy calcium pantothenate supplements
Amazon seems to be the best option for ordering calcium pantothenate supplements in most countries. They offer some very affordable products backed by many positive reviews. Also, you can choose from a wide range of brands without having to search through other markets on the internet.
Beware some brands display the dosage per serving instead of per pill or capsule. Therefore, you may accidentally buy something less potent than you intended. Do not fall for this marketing trick.
FAQ
You can take the supplement daily and do not need to cycle it. However, it is certainly not a problem if you don’t take it daily. Not taking the supplement every once in a while could lead to better absorption, but no studies have proven this.
All of these options are fine. The two most important things to consider are the price and dosing. Powders are almost always the cheapest form. However, to dose them correctly, you may need a highly accurate scale (preferably 0.001g). You can get one for as little as $20 from Amazon. Dosing the powders also takes some time that can add up over months or years. The disadvantage of capsules is that they are sometimes made of unethical ingredients, such as bovine gelatine.
Yes. The nutrient doesn’t impact your sleep in any negative way in the short term.
The supplements rarely go bad, but they can lose potency over time.
Keep the supplements in a cold, dark, and dry place, and they will remain just as potent for many months or even years.
Very high doses of pantothenic acid (2-10 grams daily) may reduce acne. However, the only human studies that exist so far on the relationship between vitamin B5 and acne also used 733 mg of L-carnitine. Therefore, this benefit may not apply to pantothenic acid itself.
Not really. Calcium pantothenate is one of the safest supplements on the market. However, there is no reason to take more than 2 grams. Even this amount is unnecessary for most people as you only need to take around 10 mg to reap most of the benefits of vitamin B5.
All supplemental forms of vitamin B5 are almost equally as good so if you are on a budget, the cheapest form (calcium pantothenate in most cases) is the way to go. If you have a lot of money to spend on supplements, pantethine is probably a better choice because of its cholesterol-reducing effect.
The most common reason people become deficient is that they don’t get enough pantothenic acid from their diet. However, many things can hurt your vitamin B2 status and increase your need for this nutrient. These include alcohol, high-fat diets, high body weight, etc.
You may need more of the nutrient if you: – experience signs of deficiency, or know that you are deficient from blood tests – drink alcohol – are a pregnant or breast-feeding woman (if you are pregnant, you need around 1 mg more per day and breastfeeding women need around 2 mg more)
The supplement stays in your system for about 24 after you consume it.
In the long-term, it typically takes around a month after you start taking the supplement to start noticing the benefits.
Most calcium pantothenate supplements on the market are vegan-friendly. However, the nutrient may be derived from non-vegan sources as well.
Calcium pantothenate is water-soluble, which means you don’t have to take it with food to absorb it well.
No, it doesn’t. The supplement does not interfere with fasting in any significant way.
Calcium pantothenate contains on average 8% calcium and 92% pantothenic acid.
References
Most of the information provided in this guide is supported by scientific research that can be found and verified in the PubMed medical library. We excluded from consideration studies that are either confounded or have a high conflict of interest.
