Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic acid) for Acne
High-dose vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) for acne rests on a single small, industry-funded trial, so the evidence is weak and no major health authority or dermatology body endorses it. If you have acne, established treatments are a far more reliable choice than B5 megadoses.
Why this grade7-layer evidence engine
The grade is held at the lowest "weak" tier because the entire human evidence base is one small randomized trial. In that 12-week study (PMID 24831048, n=41), a pantothenic acid-based supplement at 4.5 g/day cut total facial lesion counts more than placebo, but the result was barely statistically significant (p=0.0436) and the trial was funded by a supplement maker, a recognized conflict of interest. The only other citation (PMID 7476595) is a 1995 hypothesis paper, not a controlled trial, so it offers a mechanistic rationale but no proof.
Crucially, no independent replication and no meta-analysis exist, and the broader expert consensus is silent or skeptical. Regulators address only basic nutrition and safety: the US FDA treats pantothenic acid as a recognized-safe nutrient, EFSA's approved claims cover energy metabolism and similar functions but never acne, and the UK NHS notes a normal diet supplies all you need. NIH's Office of Dietary Supplements adds that deficiency is rare and no upper limit is set, but says nothing about treating acne.
Major clinics reinforce the caution. Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, and Harvard explicitly state that skin and similar B5 supplement claims are unproven or backed by little evidence, and the American Academy of Dermatology's acne guideline does not list B5 at all. Given one weak, conflicted study against this near-total lack of endorsement, the conservative grade and a marketing-risk warning are appropriate.
Scoring transparency
All scores computed by a 7-layer evidence engine — fully auditable▸View the full decision path (audit trail)
- compute_raw_score — 加權公式: L2×0.30 + L3×0.25 + L5×0.25 + L11×0.10 + L1×0.10 = 0.415
- tier_from_score — 依分數區間映射至 tier letter
- apply_hec_rules — 無高階證據可裁決
- tier_strict_requirement_check — Tier 條件達標，未降階
- detect_disputes — 偵測到 0 個 hard + 1 個 soft dispute
- decide_status — 依 tier + dispute 結果決定 status