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Definition of Vitamin B5
Medically reviewed by Min Clinic Staff | Updated: January 2026
Vitamin B5: Vitamin B5 is pantothenic acid, one of the less well known B vitamins, perhaps because it is widely distributed in nature.
Pantothenic acid is virtually ubiquitous. It is present in foods as diverse as poultry, soybeans, yogurt, and sweet potatoes.
No naturally occurring disease due to a deficiency of pantothenic acid has been identified, due to the plentifulness of this vitamin.
An experimental deficiency of pantothenic acid has, however, been created by administering an antagonist to pantothenic acid. This experiment produced disease, thereby demonstrating that pantothenic acid is essential to humans.
Pantothenic acid was discovered in 1940.