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Vitamin

Pantothenic acid

The name is a description of where it is found, which is essentially all food. Isolated deficiency has been produced experimentally and is otherwise close to unknown.

Last reviewed August 25, 2026
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What it does

Pantothenic acid is the backbone of coenzyme A, which is the molecule that carries acetyl groups. Every fat that gets broken down, every fatty acid that gets built, and the entry point of the citric acid cycle all run through acetyl-CoA.

It is also part of acyl carrier protein, which holds a growing fatty acid chain while it is being assembled.

Because coenzyme A sits at a junction where carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism all meet, there is no tidy set of deficiency symptoms — everything slows at once.

How much you need

WhoPer dayNote
Infants, 0–6 months1.7 mgAdequate Intake
Infants, 7–12 months1.8 mgAdequate Intake
Children, 1–3 years2 mg—
Children, 4–8 years3 mg—
Children, 9–13 years4 mg—
Ages 14 and over5 mg—
Pregnancy6 mg—
Breastfeeding7 mg—

All Adequate Intakes. No RDA has been set and no upper limit either, because neither deficiency nor excess from food has produced enough evidence to define one.

From our own data

The foods highest in pantothenic acid

Liver, mushrooms, avocado, eggs, sunflower seeds and wholegrains — but the honest summary is that the range across ordinary foods is narrow, which is what the name is telling you.

  1. 1Beef liver, raw10.3 mg / 100 g · 133 kcal 206% · DV
  2. 2Sunflower seeds, toasted and salted7.1 mg / 100 g · 619 kcal 141% · DV
  3. 3Chicken giblets, fried4.5 mg / 100 g · 277 kcal 89% · DV
  4. 4Vine leaves, canned4.3 mg / 100 g · 69 kcal 85% · DV
  5. 5Shiitake mushrooms, cooked3.6 mg / 100 g · 56 kcal 72% · DV
  6. 6Egg yolk, pasteurised3.4 mg / 100 g · 296 kcal 69% · DV
  7. 7Brunost (whey cheese)3.4 mg / 100 g · 466 kcal 67% · DV
  8. 8Abalone, raw3 mg / 100 g · 105 kcal 60% · DV
  9. 9Liver sausage spread3.0 mg / 100 g · 305 kcal 59% · DV
  10. 10White cornmeal2.5 mg / 100 g · 398 kcal 50% · DV
  11. 11Wheat germ, raw2.3 mg / 100 g · 360 kcal 45% · DV
  12. 12Lentils, dry2.1 mg / 100 g · 352 kcal 43% · DV

Per 100 g, from our copy of USDA FoodData Central, against a Daily Value of 5mg. Ranked by amount, not by how much of it your body actually takes up — read the next section before you act on the order.

The table above is per 100 g. The app weighs the portion you actually ate.

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What helps, and what gets in the way

Helps

  • Eating varied whole foods, which is the entire strategy

Gets in the way

  • Heavy processing and refining, which removes a substantial share
  • Prolonged boiling
  • Alcohol use disorder, as for the other B vitamins

The interesting failure mode is not dietary. "Burning feet syndrome" was described in prisoners of war in the Second World War and responded to pantothenic acid specifically, which is most of what is known about isolated human deficiency.

Who tends to fall short

Groups where intake or absorption is commonly lower than the reference. It is a list of populations, not a list of symptoms — it cannot tell you anything about yourself.

  • Almost nobody, from an ordinary diet
  • People with severe malnutrition generally, alongside other deficiencies
  • People with alcohol use disorder

Cook it

Mushrooms on toast with a soft egg

One, twelve minutes

Ingredients

  • 200 g mixed mushrooms, torn
  • 1 egg
  • 1 thick slice of sourdough
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 clove garlic
  • Thyme leaves
  • Black pepper

Method

  1. 1Tear, do not sliceTorn edges are rough and catch more heat, which browns better than the smooth face a knife leaves.
  2. 2Hot and dry to startMushrooms into a hot dry pan in one layer. They will release water; wait for it to go before the butter does in.
  3. 3Butter, garlic, thymeOnce dry and starting to colour. Two minutes more, and the garlic grated rather than chopped so it disappears into the butter.
  4. 4Soft egg on topFried gently or poached, over the mushrooms on toast rubbed with the garlic stub.

Mushrooms and eggs are both among the better sources, and this is a five-ingredient meal that happens to be one.

Sources

This page is education, not medical advice. It does not diagnose anything and it is not a substitute for a clinician who knows your history. If you think you are short of pantothenic acid, the answer is a blood test and a conversation, not a supplement bought on the strength of an article.

Every food above, and 12,601 more, with the full panel — in the app.

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