Vitamins, minerals and amino acids
Vitamine B5
The amount of pantothenic acid in the blood; a deficiency is very rare and the blood value is a mediocre measure of it.
Everything about this testWhat it measures
Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) is a water-soluble vitamin. The body uses it to build coenzyme A, a helper substance needed in a great many steps of metabolism, especially in releasing energy from fatty acids and in building up and breaking down proteins and fats. Pantothenic acid is found in meat, eggs, whole grain products, legumes, milk, vegetables and fruit. Most of it in the blood is in the red blood cells as coenzyme A; the test usually measures the free pantothenic acid in serum or plasma.
- A very rare deficiency of pantothenic acid, for example with long-term severe malnutrition
- A high intake from supplements
High
A high value is almost always due to a supplement or a multivitamin. The body passes any excess in the urine. No diseases are known to go with a high value; only at doses of tens of grams per day can diarrhea occur, and such amounts are not found in ordinary supplements.
Low
A low value is rare in the Netherlands. Pantothenic acid is found in almost all foods, so a deficiency practically only develops with long-term severe malnutrition. With a long-lasting and severe deficiency, a burning or painful feeling in the feet has been described. Tiredness, stress or burnout are not known consequences of a low pantothenic acid; a low result therefore does not explain those symptoms.
If your result is abnormal
An abnormal value usually does not lead to further tests on its own. If there are signs of malnutrition, the GP looks at eating habits, weight history and other nutrients, and refers to a dietitian if needed.
Reliability
What an abnormal value means has been little studied, also in people with tiredness. The amount in serum mainly follows the intake of the last few days and is a mediocre measure of the body's stores; research therefore usually looks at excretion in the urine or at the level in red blood cells. There is no dietary requirement for pantothenic acid, only an adequate intake set by the Health Council of the Netherlands, and there is no agreed cut-off below which a deficiency is said to exist.
Limitations
- Supplements and multivitamins raise the value sharply; stop them well before the blood draw if you want to measure your usual situation.
- The result follows the intake of the last few days and says little about the stores in the cells.
- Pantothenic acid is not stable in blood; delayed or warm transport lowers the measured value.
- Measurement methods and reference values differ between laboratories and are not standardized.
How common is this
A deficiency of pantothenic acid is very rare in the Netherlands, because the vitamin is found in almost all foods. There are no Dutch figures on how often a low blood value is found, because no population study has been done on it.
Who is this useful for
In adults with a varied diet, the result adds nothing. Even with long-lasting tiredness it says little: according to the guideline on chronic fatigue syndrome, it has not been shown that supplements reduce those symptoms. With long-term severe malnutrition or tube feeding, a doctor looks at the diet as a whole, not at this single value.
Downsides and risks
- A low value without symptoms can cause unnecessary worry or lead to unnecessary further tests.
- A low result can wrongly explain symptoms such as tiredness, so that another cause is found later.
Sources
Always discuss an abnormal result with your GP. If a result is strongly abnormal, we try to reach you as soon as possible. Read your result yourself as well and contact your GP if in doubt. A test does not make a diagnosis. Read more about risks and results