NOW Foods Pantothenic Acid 500mg 250 Veg Capsules

What this is

NOW Foods Pantothenic Acid 500 mg is a single-nutrient B-vitamin supplement sold in a bottle of 250 vegetarian capsules. Each capsule supplies 500 mg of pantothenic acid — vitamin B-5 — in the form of calcium pantothenate. The front of the bottle labels it a B-Complex Vitamin and a dietary supplement, and marks it Vegetarian/Vegan alongside a Non-GMO badge and a kosher K symbol. It belongs at the single-nutrient end of our Vitamins range: one active ingredient, one serving size, nothing blended in behind it.

Pantothenic acid takes its name from the Greek pantothen, meaning roughly “from everywhere” — a reference to how widely the nutrient is distributed across foods. It is one of the eight B-complex vitamins and is classed as an essential nutrient, which is a technical nutritional term rather than a sales one: it means the body does not make its own supply, so the amount it has comes from what is eaten.

What is in each capsule

The panel lists two nutrient rows and two other ingredients, and that is the entire formula.

• Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B-5) — 500 mg, from calcium pantothenate. Calcium pantothenate is the calcium salt of pantothenic acid, and it is the form the vitamin is almost always supplied in commercially. Pantothenic acid in its free form is a viscous, moisture-attracting oil that will not fill a capsule or press into a tablet, so the dry salt is used instead. The NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database catalogs label panels of this kind if you want to compare how other products declare the same ingredient.
• Calcium — 45 mg, 3% Daily Value, also from calcium pantothenate. This is not a second added mineral. It is the calcium half of the same salt, and it gets its own row because label rules require the nutrients present in a product to be declared. General background on the mineral is set out in the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements calcium fact sheet.
• Hypromellose — the capsule shell itself. Hypromellose is derived from cellulose and stands in for gelatin, which is what makes this a veg capsule rather than an animal-sourced one.
• Stearic acid (vegetable source) — a fatty acid used as a processing aid in capsule and tablet manufacturing, so powder flows evenly and each shell receives the same fill.

The Other Ingredients line stops there. No coloring, flavoring, sweetener or filler blend is declared on the panel. For general background on B-vitamins and on supplements as a category, the NIH keeps a full index at its Office of Dietary Supplements fact sheet library.

Supplement Facts

Transcribed from the Supplement Facts panel printed on the bottle.

Reading the 10,000% figure

The 10,000% on the panel is arithmetic, not emphasis. The Daily Value used on US supplement labels for pantothenic acid is 5 mg, so a 500 mg serving is one hundred times that reference amount, and one hundred times expressed as a percentage is 10,000%. The calcium row behaves the same way in the opposite direction: 45 mg measured against calcium's much higher reference amount rounds to 3%.

A Daily Value is a labeling reference point for the general population. It exists so that figures on different packages can be compared on the same scale, and a percentage well above or below 100% is a statement about that comparison and nothing more. If you already take a B-complex, a multivitamin or any other supplement, it is worth adding up the pantothenic acid across all of them and reviewing the total with a healthcare professional rather than reading each label in isolation.

How to use it

The printed suggested usage is one capsule daily with a meal. That is the whole instruction on the bottle — there is no loading period, no second serving and no timing window beyond taking it alongside food. The label also directs you to store the bottle in a cool, dry place after opening.

At one capsule a day, a 250-capsule bottle covers roughly eight months of daily servings, which is the practical difference between this size and a smaller count: fewer reorders, and a bottle that stays open for a long stretch. That is why the storage line matters more here than it would on a 60-count bottle — keep the cap closed and the bottle away from a humid cupboard or a sunlit windowsill.

Who it is for

This is a product for adults who have already decided they want vitamin B-5 specifically, rather than a general B-complex. Single-nutrient supplements get chosen when someone wants to control one variable on its own; a combination formula does not allow that, because it fixes every amount in advance.

The capsule shell is plant-based, so the product suits vegetarian and vegan diets, and the front label carries a kosher K mark. The panel's full allergen statement is set out below. It is sold for adults 18 and over. You can see how it sits beside the rest of our Supplements range, which includes both single nutrients and combination formulas.

Good to know

The caution printed on the bottle reads: for adults only; consult a physician if pregnant or nursing, taking medication, or managing a medical condition; keep out of reach of children. The label also notes that natural color variation may occur in this product — a normal characteristic of a capsule filled with a single compound, and not a sign that anything is wrong with the bottle you receive.

On allergens the panel is specific in both directions, and the second half matters as much as the first: the product is not manufactured with wheat, gluten, soy, corn, milk, egg, fish, shellfish or tree nut ingredients, but it is produced in a GMP facility that processes other ingredients containing those allergens. If you react severely to any of them, that shared-facility statement is the line to weigh.

The bottle is quality tested and packaged by NOW Foods at 395 S. Glen Ellyn Rd., Bloomingdale, IL 60108, USA. Several statements on the side panel carry an asterisk; that asterisk is a labeling convention, and the FDA explains what it signals in its guidance on structure/function claims. More of our range sits under Health & Wellness.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many capsules come in the bottle?

The bottle holds 250 veg capsules. The serving size printed on the panel is one capsule, so the bottle covers 250 daily servings — roughly eight months at the suggested usage of one capsule daily with a meal.

Is the capsule vegetarian, or is it gelatin?

It is vegetarian. The capsule shell is hypromellose, a cellulose-derived material, and the front of the bottle is marked Vegetarian/Vegan. The only other ingredient on the panel is stearic acid, which the label identifies as vegetable source.

Why does a vitamin B-5 label list calcium?

Because the B-5 is supplied as calcium pantothenate, a salt that contains calcium as part of its structure. The 45 mg of calcium on the panel is that mineral half of the salt, declared because label rules require the nutrients present in a product to be listed — it is not calcium added as a separate ingredient.

What does the 10,000% Daily Value mean?

It means the 500 mg serving is one hundred times the 5 mg Daily Value that US labels use as the reference figure for pantothenic acid. The percentage is a comparison against that fixed reference and nothing more; if you take other supplements containing B-5, total the amounts and review them with a healthcare professional.

How is the order packaged for delivery?

Orders ship in plain outer packaging. It will not show the Gear Isle name. The NOW Foods bottle travels inside that outer packaging in its own manufacturer labeling.

Product information compiled and reviewed by the Gear Isle product team. We transcribe supplement facts directly from manufacturer packaging. Found an error? Tell us.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Dietary supplement for adults 18 and over. Consult a licensed healthcare professional before use, especially if you have a medical condition, heart concerns, or take prescription medication (including nitrates). Keep out of reach of children.