Vitamin B5 pantothenic acid

Blood test for Pantothenic acid content from serum

This involves the determination of free, unbound pantothenic acid.

Pantothenic acid or vitamin B5 is needed for the body's energy supply, building and breaking down proteins and fats.

Pantothenic acid is found in meat, eggs, whole grain products, legumes, milk and milk products, fruits and vegetables.

Vitamin B5 deficiency is rare in the West because it is found in many foods.

Risk groups for developing vitamin B5 deficiency are alcoholics, women using oral contraceptives (the pill), inadequate food intake (e.g., elderly or psychiatric patients who neglect themselves and postoperative situations), and people with impaired absorption (malabsorption due to certain internal diseases).

Vitamin B5 deficiency symptoms include fatigue, insomnia, depression, irritability, vomiting, abdominal pain and a painful, burning sensation in the feet.

Getting symptoms due to an excess of vitamin B5 is almost impossible Only at extremely high doses of vitamin B5 of tens of grams per day diarrhea can occur.

reference values: 25 - 80 µg/l
Method: Gas-Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GCMS)

* This is a special test, the results of which will take about 2 weeks.