Who Found Pantothenic Acid, and Why Its Name Means From Everywhere
Roger J. Williams announced pantothenic acid in 1933 as a growth factor for yeast. Its main job is building coenzyme A, whose discoverer shared the 1953 Nobel Prize. Most people get enough from food, and supplement amounts range from about 10 mg to 1,000 mg.
The history of vitamin B5 starts with yeast, not a disease. Roger J. Williams announced pantothenic acid in 1933 as a growth factor for yeast. Its main job turned out to be building coenzyme A, the molecule that earned Fritz Lipmann a share of the 1953 Nobel Prize. ## Williams found it while hunting yeast growth factors Williams was a professor at Oregon State College from 1932 to 1939, according to the [National Academy of Sciences memoir](https://www.nasonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/williams-roger.pdf). In 1933 his group published "Pantothenic acid, a growth determinant of universal biological occurrence" in the *Journal of the American Chemical Society*. He named the vitamin from the Greek *pantothen*, which the memoir glosses as "from all sides." For another B vitamin whose story starts with a liver cure, see [the vitamin B12 origin story](/blog/history/history-of-vitamin-b12-from-liver-cure-to-cobalamin). ## Almost every food carries it Almost all plant and animal foods contain pantothenic acid, according to the [NIH Office of Dietary Supplements](https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/PantothenicAcid-HealthProfessional/) (ODS). Its table of selected foods, drawn from USDA FoodData Central, includes these: | Food | Serving | Pantothenic acid (mg) | |---|---|---| | Beef liver, boiled | 3 ounces | 8.3 | | Shiitake mushrooms, cooked | 1/2 cup | 2.6 | | Sunflower seeds | 1/4 cup | 2.4 | | Chicken breast, roasted | 3 ounces | 1.3 | | Egg, hard boiled | 1 large | 0.7 | ## Coenzyme A and the 1953 Nobel Prize The ODS says the vitamin's main function is building coenzyme A (CoA), which fatty acid synthesis and breakdown both need. The [Linus Pauling Institute](https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/vitamins/pantothenic-acid) adds that acetyl-CoA and succinyl-CoA take part in the citric acid cycle. For the energy side, see our [mitochondrial health guide](/health/mitochondrial-health-complete-guide). In 1953 the [Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine](https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1953/summary/) went to Hans Adolf Krebs "for his discovery of the citric acid cycle" and to Fritz Albert Lipmann "for his discovery of co-enzyme A and its importance for intermediary metabolism." Lipmann's [Nobel biography](https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1953/lipmann/biographical/) says the problems opened by that discovery drew much attention in the late 1940s and early 1950s. For the NAD side of the energy chain, see our [NAD longevity guide](/health/nad-longevity-complete-guide). ## Human deficiency came from restricted diets and an antagonist The ODS says the only people known to develop pantothenic acid deficiency were fed diets with virtually none of the vitamin, or were given an antagonist of its metabolism. According to PubMed, Hodges and colleagues described deficiency in people in "Pantothenic acid deficiency in man," published in the *Journal of Clinical Investigation* in 1958 ([DOI](https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI103756)). According to PubMed, a 1959 paper from the same group produced it with omega-methyl pantothenic acid ([DOI](https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI103918)). The symptoms the ODS links to deficiency, including numbness and burning in the hands and feet, rest on prisoner-of-war experiences and controlled diets. According to PubMed, Glusman's 1947 paper "The syndrome of burning feet (nutritional melalgia) as a manifestation of nutritional deficiency" is one of the ODS references ([DOI](https://doi.org/10.1016/0002-9343(47)90151-4)). ## Skin and fur studies started with animals According to PubMed, a 2007 study by Kuo and colleagues found that mice on pantothenic acid-deficient diets developed poor grooming and graying of the fur, and that restoring the vitamin led to recovery of grooming ([DOI](https://doi.org/10.1007/s10545-007-0560-8)). The Linus Pauling Institute reports the same fur finding and says evidence that supplements or shampoos prevent or restore hair color in people is lacking. This page makes no claim about skin or hair products. According to PubMed, a 2022 case report described allergic contact dermatitis from pantolactone and dexpanthenol in wound healing creams ([DOI](https://doi.org/10.1111/cod.14198)). ## What supplement labels show The ODS says supplement amounts typically run from about 10 mg in multivitamin-minerals to as much as 1,000 mg in B-complex or single-ingredient products. The ODS has not set a tolerable upper intake level, because there are no reports of toxicity in humans at high intakes, though some people taking 10 grams a day develop mild diarrhea. ## Bottom line Most people already get enough pantothenic acid from food, so a supplement is rarely the first fix. If you take one, compare its milligrams with the 5 mg adult intake, and talk with a clinician before using anything in the hundreds of milligrams. ## Frequently asked questions ### Why is vitamin B5 named from a Greek word meaning from everywhere? Williams took the name from the Greek *pantothen*. His National Academy of Sciences memoir glosses it as "from all sides," which is close to "from everywhere." The memoir does not explain why he chose the word. The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements says almost all plant and animal foods contain pantothenic acid, so the name fits how widely the vitamin turns up in the diet. ### Who first isolated pantothenic acid, and when? Roger J. Williams announced it in 1933 as a yeast growth factor, while he was a professor at Oregon State College. That paper appeared in the *Journal of the American Chemical Society*, volume 55, starting on page 2912. His group reported purifying it from liver in the late 1930s, and Williams and R. T. Major reported its structure in 1940 in *Science*. ### How did coenzyme A connect the vitamin to energy metabolism? Pantothenic acid is a precursor of coenzyme A. According to the Linus Pauling Institute, CoA and its acyl forms drive reactions that release energy from fat, carbohydrate and protein, and acetyl-CoA and succinyl-CoA take part in the citric acid cycle. Fritz Lipmann shared the 1953 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering coenzyme A and its importance for intermediary metabolism. Hans Krebs shared the prize for the citric acid cycle. ### Why is vitamin B5 rarely deficient in people? Almost every food contains some pantothenic acid, so the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements says deficiency is rare except in people with severe malnutrition. The only people known to develop it were fed diets with virtually none of the vitamin or given an antagonist of its metabolism. A typical US diet provides about 6 mg a day, above the 5 mg adult adequate intake. ### Which foods are the richest sources of pantothenic acid? Beef liver leads the ODS table at 8.3 mg per 3-ounce serving, more than 160 percent of the Daily Value. Shiitake mushrooms (2.6 mg per half cup), sunflower seeds (2.4 mg per quarter cup) and chicken breast (1.3 mg per 3 ounces) follow. The ODS also names beef, chicken, organ meats, whole grains and some vegetables as rich sources. Processing can cause losses of 20 to almost 80 percent, so treat the table as a starting point. ### How do B5 supplements differ from food sources? In food, most of the vitamin sits inside CoA and phosphopantetheine, which digestive enzymes convert to pantothenic acid before absorption. Limited data suggest the body absorbs 40 to 61 percent of it from food. Supplements more often use calcium pantothenate, sometimes pantethine, and come as single-ingredient products, B-complex blends or multivitamins. No study has compared how well the supplement forms are absorbed. ## Next reads - [Our mitochondrial health guide](/health/mitochondrial-health-complete-guide) covers the energy chemistry that coenzyme A supports. - [The vitamin B12 origin story](/blog/history/history-of-vitamin-b12-from-liver-cure-to-cobalamin) traces a different B vitamin, from a liver cure to the vitamin itself. ### Related reading - [the B-complex origin story, from one factor to eight](/blog/history/history-of-the-b-complex-from-one-factor-to-eight) - [the biotin origin story, from egg white injury to vitamin H](/blog/history/history-of-biotin-from-egg-white-injury-to-vitamin-h) - [the thiamine origin story, from beriberi to Eijkman](/blog/history/history-of-thiamine-b1-from-beriberi-to-eijkman)