Vitamin B5(Pantothenic acid)

Vitamin B5, also called pantothenic acid, is an essential water-soluble vitamin used in energy metabolism. Pantothenic acid is an integral component of coenzyme A, which is synthesised in animals by a series of steps that involve the initial phosphorylation to pantothenic acid 4' -phosphate catalysed by pantothenate kinase, the primary regulatory step of Coenzyme A (CoA) synthesis. Dietary pantothenic acid is widely distributed in many foods, and is normally found as a component of CoA, acyl-CoA synthetase, or acyl carrier proteins. All of these forms are hydrolysed to pantothenic acid within the intestinal lumen prior to being absorbed by carrier mediated transport across the mucosa. Pantothenic acid is then transported in blood bound to red blood cells to target tissues. Pantothenic acid is filtered by the renal tubules, with active reabsorption during periods of low intake. Pantothenic acid is an integral component of Coenzyme A (CoA) which is a key substrate in energy metabolism and is also required for synthesis of certain proteins and fatty acids.