Does oral single-active pantothenic acid increase stratum corneum hydration in adults with dry skin?

Complete submitted research report

# Does oral single-active pantothenic acid increase stratum corneum hydration in adults with dry skin?

**TASK-1032 / R01-072 · Fourth item (4/5) in the 69–73 conversation** Evidence checked: **2026-09-17** · Field R01 / module NUT · Kind S / category skin-hair

## 1. Reader answer and current assessment

Within the disclosed search, **no eligible human comparison was identified that isolates the effect of oral single-active pantothenic acid on stratum corneum hydration at a defined time in adults with dry skin.** Related human research does exist. Topical dexpanthenol/panthenol studies report hydration outcomes, but they do not test oral pantothenic acid. Microrelief and elasticity findings from an oral multinutrient supplement are also not a single-B5 stratum corneum hydration effect. [S01–S06]

The **efficacy grade is `?`, with no numeric score (`null`)**. This is the current evidence value obtained by applying the supplied stage-0 rule and original calculator after examining actual designs and eligibility. It is not a finding of zero effect, demonstrated equivalence, absence of all human pantothenic-acid research, or a score of zero. An isolated effect size, direction and between-group confidence interval cannot be estimated for this question. Certainty of benefit inferred from adjacent evidence is very low; no formal GRADE assessment or probability of treatment success was calculated.

**Safety: Caution.** Short-term gastrointestinal adverse events and unverified total exposure, long-term use and special populations remain relevant. Research doses are not personal dosing instructions or directions to change moisturizing or disease treatment. [S07–S08]

Manuscript quality **A** means the requested traceability, boundaries, bilingual content, uncertainty and file structure were completed through same-author self-review. It does not mean independent external review, journal certification or an error-free guarantee. The result is `completed_with_uncertainty`; content is `ready_with_uncertainty` / `completed_with_declared_scope`. Publication remains `needs_id_assignment`: no new ID, slug, URL or first-publication date has been reserved.

## 2. The research question is not a record of trial facts

| Boundary | Question addressed by this page | Current factual status | |---|---|---| | Intervention | Oral pantothenic acid as the sole active ingredient | An eligible direct-study formulation, salt and active mass were not identified. Calcium/sodium salts require study-specific verification | | Population | Adults with defined dry skin/xerosis | Not an established diagnosis in every related study. Healthy volunteers, photoaging, acute irritation and clinical xerosis are separated | | Endpoint | Stratum corneum hydration at a defined time, with site/device/unit specified | Instrumental surrogate S; not identical to disease healing, symptoms or TEWL | | Comparator | Actual placebo, usual care or active comparator on matched background care | No eligible direct comparator identified for the oral single-active question. An untreated topical site is not an oral placebo | | Dose and duration | Established study by study | Direct eligible values remain `null`; adjacent-study doses/times are not inserted as a default regimen |

The original Korean input question and its proposed fields are retained verbatim in the input files. The English question above is an editorial clarification of the requested boundary, not a claim that a matching trial has already been verified.

Acid-versus-salt labeling, stereochemical form, excipients and active mass are not silently equated. **Topical panthenol/dexpanthenol, pantethine, multivitamin/collagen products and moisturizing creams are different interventions.** Total exposure would include food and other supplements, but quantitative total pantothenate intake, baseline concentrations and deficiency criteria were not verified in the relevant skin studies. Deficiency correction is not substituted for additional supplementation in unselected dry skin. [S01–S08; supplied records 028/3099–3102/3147]

## 3. Reuse, completion history and duplicate assessment

The exact current 27-member input archive, the full 3,147-record index and six candidate originals were read and compared. All index/codebook records were parsed and screened for synonyms and adjacent claims. This does not mean that all 3,147 claims underwent new clinical reassessment. Automatic candidate presence or absence was not treated as a guarantee of duplication or novelty.

Record **028** is a broad skin/hair claim; its topical dexpanthenol source map was reused, not its efficacy grade. **3099** concerns acne lesions, **3100** LDL-C, **3101** FSS fatigue, **3102** diarrhea risk, and **3147** complete epithelialization of chronic ulcers. These are different independent endpoints. Oral safety, molecular-form and search maps from 3102/3147 were reused. Additional index matches 2466 and 366 concern a topical eyelid wipe/ocular symptoms and pantethine/lipids respectively. No exact independent oral single-active/dry-skin/stratum-corneum hydration claim was identified, so the operation is `new`. See `duplicate_review.json` and `full_index_screen.json`.

The supplied deployment receipt establishes that prior TASK-1031 was published as **3147**. Supplied current history is **71 completed items:66 published/5 exact duplicates/29 pending**. Its historical unassigned source manifest remains unchanged and does not override that later receipt. Completed B6/B5 manuscripts, grades and translations were not modified. No new production-server or deployment check was performed here.

## 4. Search actually performed and eligibility

On 2026-09-17, public web searches, PubMed/PMC and publisher primary records, and official ClinicalTrials.gov indexed material were searched using pantothenic acid, calcium/sodium pantothenate, oral, xerosis/dry skin, hydration/corneometry/stratum corneum and corresponding Korean, plus selected Japanese, terms. The 35 exact queries, access failures and source limitations are preserved in `search_log.json`. Reviews and supplied records were used as maps to primary papers, not independent trials.

The six skin studies below are adjacent human designs that were actually checked. One oral pharmacokinetic study was reused only as safety context. No directly eligible comparison was established in this screened set and disclosed search. This is not a definitive zero across every database or an invented PRISMA retrieval count. Web indexing, citation trails, subscription access and registry histories limit coverage. Paid Embase/Scopus searches, author contact and individual-data acquisition were not performed. An attempted Europe PMC API request failed with a DNS error and is not counted as a completed database search.

Queries included placebo/control, no-change findings and correction/retraction terms rather than favorable findings alone. No applicable notice was identified in accessible primary records and the targeted searches, but this is not exhaustive clearance. Not found, not reported and inaccessible remain different states; none is converted to no effect.

## 5. Evidence table: assess directness before efficacy

| Study and access | Actual design, denominator, intervention/comparator and duration | Verified outcome/result and weight for this question | Funding/product verification | |---|---|---|---| | S01 Gehring & Gloor 2000, primary abstract | Randomized, double-blind topical dexpanthenol in two lipophilic vehicles versus corresponding vehicles;7 days. Sample size/xerosis threshold not established from abstract | Hydration improvement and lower TEWL reported; hydration effect size/CI unavailable. **Wrong route for oral single-active efficacy** | Funding/product supply absent from accessed abstract; independence not inferred | | S02 Biro 2003, primary abstract |25 healthy people,21 completed. Paired forearms:5% dexpanthenol versus placebo balm twice daily for 26 days;2%SLS challenge on days 15–22. Randomization method unverified | Corneometry P<0.05; magnitude/CI unavailable. Topical acute irritation model.25 people are not 50 independent arms | Funding/supply arrangement not reported in abstract | | S03 Camargo 2011, primary abstract | Healthy forearms,0/0.5/1/5% topical panthenol; baseline/day 15/day 30, plus washing evaluation. N/randomization unverified | Explicit positive abstract findings principally concern **TEWL**. Not merged with hydration; excluded from oral efficacy | Full-text retrieval unsuccessful; funding/supply unavailable in abstract | | S04 Fanian 2013, primary full text |80 women randomized 40/40; results 40/39 after one placebo intolerance withdrawal. Two Perfectil Platinum tablets/day versus placebo for 122 days, then 6 weeks off treatment | B5 label amount 40 mg/day within a multiactive product. **Actual assessments were microrelief, elasticity and ultrasound, not a direct SC-hydration trial** | Vitabiotics product identified; authors declare no conflict. Explicit trial funding/donation arrangement not verified | | S05 Morgado-Carrasco 2026, primary full text/PDF |35 xerosis participants, all completed.1 g multi-active cream twice daily for 28 days on one pretibial site versus **untreated** opposite leg. EfficacyPP and safetyITT each 35 | Actual CM825 hydration outcome, but **topical combination versus no treatment**. Neither the B5/panthenol component nor oral efficacy is isolated | Lacer funding; three Lacer-affiliated authors. No-conflict and limited-funder-role declarations recorded separately from affiliations/contributions | | S06 Pavlačková, online 2018/issue 2019, publisher abstract |40 women, topical emulsions with/without 5–13 wt% panthenol;48-hour observation. Allocation, analysis sets and attrition unverified | Hydration enhancement reported for some formulations; numerical effect/CI unavailable. Wrong route for oral sole-active evidence | Funding/product support not established from abstract |

For S01–S03/S06, details of device model, calibration, environmental acclimation, replicate averaging, baseline nutrition, total intake, medicines and missing-data handling remain unverified within access. This does not establish that procedures were either absent or adequate. `study_extractions.json` records study-specific confirmed facts and explicit missingness. Unverified DOIs, PMIDs and registration numbers remain `null`.

### The oral combination result most easily misattributed

S04 selected women with photoaging. Self-reported dry skin in 43%/45% is not a universal corneometric xerosis diagnosis. The study covered winter seasonal change and allowed basic moisturizing. Premeasurement cleansing/product restrictions and controlled 20±2°C,55±5%RH,15-minute rest do not turn it into a single-B5 hydration trial. Although the authors describe ITT analysis, the reported placebo denominator is 39; all 80 randomized participants are not described as having observed results. Within-group microrelief changes were not converted into a between-group hydration effect. Table 3 reports BMI22.7±2.1 versus 23.4±4.3 kg/m²(mean±SD), and smoking history in 7 versus 10 participants. Dry-skin counts 17(43%)/18(45%) are author-reported; percentage discrepancies against result denominators 40/39 were not silently repaired. Menopause percentages switch arms between narrative and Table 3 and were not used for subgroup inference. [S04, Methods/Results/Table 3]

## 6. Checking reported hydration numbers without changing the intervention

S05 is a genuine xerosis/hydration study that could readily be confused with the requested oral question. Dry skin was defined by corneometry<30 c.u., very dry skin<25 c.u. The measurement site was a 20×10 cm pretibial area, and **CorneometerCM825 c.u.** were used for superficial stratum corneum hydration. These units are not a percentage by mass of water. A neutral detergent was shared between legs. Measurements followed 15-minute acclimation at 22±2°C and 50±10%RH. Containers were weighed and participants interviewed, but exact timing/frequency of use, calibration and replicate-averaging details were not reported. [S05, §§2.1–2.4]

| Time | Treated site mean±SE [95% CI of mean], c.u. | Untreated site mean±SE [95% CI of mean], c.u. | |---|---:|---:| | Baseline |21.3±1.0 [19.3,23.3]|21.1±1.0 [19.1,23.1]| | Day 7 |33.9±1.4 [31.1,36.7]|21.8±1.0 [19.8,23.8]| | Day 28 |35.2±1.2 [32.8,37.6]|22.2±0.9 [20.4,24.0]|

Source: S05 Table 2, printed PDFp 6; baseline and plotted results were visually checked on printedpp 4–5. **The same 35 people contribute paired sites and repeated time points. They are not 70 independent participants or new cohorts at every visit.** Day 28 between-site P<0.001, treated baseline-to-day 28 P<0.001 and control baseline-to-day 28 P=0.146 are separately reported tests. The nonsignificant control test does not demonstrate equivalence.

Those confidence intervals are for site means, **not the paired difference in changes**. Arithmetic using published means gives a descriptive day 28 difference of 13.0 c.u. and a difference in mean changes of 12.8 c.u. Neither is a reported adjusted estimate or **an oral pantothenic-acid effect**. Individual paired covariance/change variance is unavailable, so no between-site CI, standardized effect, MCID or NNT was invented. A5 c.u. power-planning assumption is not a verified MCID.

Internal reporting differences are retained. Mean age is 47.3 years, but Table 1 givesSD13.8, ResultsSD2.3, and the abstract±2.0. Reported hydration increases are 66.2% atday 7 and 74.1% atday 28; ratios of the published group means give 59.15% and 65.26%. An average of individual relative changes might differ from a ratio of means, but the calculation definition was not verified. **The publication is not declared erroneous or silently corrected.** Methods list corneometry atT0/T7/T28, while Results also include 30 minutes/24/48 hours. The current numerical summary focuses on the defined 28-day endpoint and records the timing discrepancy. [S05; `numeric_audit.json`]

Participants were unblinded. Clinical dermatologist ratings were described as blinded, but instrumental-operator masking was not confirmed. Repeated-measures ANOVA/Tukey–Kramer and ordinal clinical tests were reported; the limitation concerning no separate overall multiplicity correction across numerous endpoints/six times is also retained. Article-declared primary endpoints are distinguished from those **originally registered**. NCT07393191 and its official indexed title were confirmed, but registry history, original outcome hierarchy and prospective registration were not established. [S05–S09]

## 7. Endpoint boundaries, applicability and contrary interpretations

TEWL is a water-loss measure, whereas corneometry is an electrical proxy for stratum corneum hydration. Deeper conductance inµS, erythema, scaling, microrelief and perceived moistness/itch/dryness are separate outcomes. Therefore “better barrier,” “improved skin,” and a significant TEWL result are not combined into one hydration effect. [S03–S05]

Positive topical human findings contradict a blanket claim that no relevant human research exists. They do not establish oral sole-active pantothenic-acid efficacy. Conversely, not identifying a matching oral comparison does not refute every biological action of pantothenic acid. A separable component comparison or randomized oral sole-active comparison on matched care would be needed to narrow that attribution gap.

Healthy acute SLS irritation, photoaging women and clinically defined xerosis are not interchangeable populations. Effects by baseline B5 concentration, diet, smoking, obesity, kidney function, atopic/coexisting disease or season are not established for this oral question. These unscored sub-boundaries have no invented grades or scores. Acute wounds, chronic-ulcer closure, acne and hair outcomes remain separate completed questions. Cellular mechanisms and nutritional associations do not fill the clinical supplementation gap.

## 8. Safety and total exposure

The Rao pharmacokinetic/safety extraction already verified in records 3102/3147 was reused. Among 40 healthy adults,32 were in single-dose cohorts and a separate 8-person cohort received 14-day repeat exposure. In this open study without placebo, diarrhea was recorded in 1/8 at the paper-reported 5000 mg fasted dose and 0/8 during fed re-exposure of **the same eight people**. A separate 2000 mg/day,14-day cohort recorded 0/8. These small, short observations do not verify safety. Fasted/fed periods were not treated as independent groups and no risk ratio or NNH was computed. Repeat exposure lasted 14 days; day 22 follow-up was not relabeled as 22 days of dosing. The completed diarrhea claim was not regraded. [S07; exact current input 3102/prior 71 reports]

Rugby D-calcium pantothenate labeling and the paper's acid/salt dose wording were kept distinct. No risk threshold or active acid mass conversion was invented. Food and other-supplement exposure was not quantified. CoA Therapeutics funding and company-related employment, consultancy and shareholdings were disclosed; exact free-product provision was not confirmed. [S07]

The NIH ODS page newly accessed in this task, updated 2026-05-01, notes that no pantothenic-acid UL was established and that high intakes, exemplified by 10 g/day, can produce diarrhea and gastrointestinal discomfort. **Lack of a UL is not evidence of an unlimited safe dose.** Its statement that clinically relevant medication interactions are not known does not establish that every drug combination has been tested for safety. [S08]

The absence of acute irritation in S05's 35-person,28-day topical study was not transferred to oral safety. S02's withdrawal for a severe event considered unrelated to the study was retained; event occurrence and causal attribution were distinguished. Incomplete arm-specific adverse-event reporting was not rewritten as “no adverse effects.” Long-term intake, pregnancy/lactation, children, hepatic/renal disease, co-use and disease-specific xerosis safety remain unverified. Research doses do not direct personal supplementation or replacement of moisturizing or disease treatment.

## 9. Classification, scoring and same-author verification

The supplied kinds/categories/codebook support **S(single nutrient) and skin-hair**. The canonical entity is pantothenic acid, not pantethine or topical panthenol. The internal duplicate key is ASCII. No new semantic code or site ID was issued.

The original supplied calculator was executed unchanged. `claim_type=B`, intended endpoint`S`, and the **question- and search-scoped** `no_human_study=true` flag after actual eligibility review yield proposed/final grade`?`. Score is`null`; replication/independence/effect/bias/precision remain unscored. Reproduction or industry funding in excluded topical trials was not used to populate oral-efficacy axes. The supplied rule and code agree; there is no override or invented numeric anchor. Exact calculator/rubric hashes and execution results are in `grading_decision.json`.

Self-review compared source identifiers, routes, forms, tables, denominators, times, SE/CI, reported versus recalculated values, funding, missingness, bilingual meaning/numbers and the field contract. The prepublication audit records exclusion of S04 as a hydration trial, S05's untreated/paired design and unresolved numbers, and avoidance of invented MCIDs. `clinical_validate.py` is a fixed consistency check of the completed author decisions, not an automatic clinical decision-maker. Technical reconstruction is separate and does not require clinical revalidation by the receiver.

## 10. Remaining access limits and revision conditions

Unverified details include some subscription full texts, equipment/funding/denominators, registry history, S05 paired individual data and percentage calculation, age/timing discrepancies, isolated oral effects/CIs/MCIDs, and long-term safety. These limitations belong to the completed restricted conclusion, not an unfinished clinical TODO.

**Revision triggers:** an eligible oral sole-active comparison or separable component study; verifiable original data or registry history; official correction/retraction; or newly established errors in active mass, boundaries or numerical extraction. Initial postpublication corrections remain`[]`; changes made before this submission are separately recorded in `prepublication_audit.json`. Each full-language report is preserved exactly in its corresponding verdict `body_markdown`, and original `what_research` is retained separately.

## Sources and locations

- **S01** Gehring & Gloor 2000. [PubMed 10965426](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10965426/). DOI10.1055/s-0031-1300268. Primary abstract only. - **S02** Biro et al.2003. [PubMed 14641355](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14641355/). DOI10.1111/j.0105-1873.2003.00184.x. Primary abstract. - **S03** Camargo et al.2011. [PubMed 21982351](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21982351/). Primary abstract; DOI unverified. - **S04** Fanian et al.2013. [PMC3832385](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3832385/). DOI10.2147/CIA.S43976; PMID24255597. Full text: Methods, Tables 1–2, Results, Disclosure. - **S05** Morgado-Carrasco et al.2026. [Publisher article](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jocd.70898). DOI10.1111/jocd.70898; PMID42108609. [PDF](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jocd.70898), printedpp 3–6 visually checked. The original is a CC BY open article; this report contains attributed factual extraction and critical interpretation, not a replacement for the paper. - **S06** Pavlačková et al., online 2018/issue 2019. [Publisher abstract](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jocd.12527). DOI10.1111/jocd.12527; PMID unverified. - **S07** Rao et al.2021. [Primary-paper URL](https://www.gavinpublishers.com/article/view/the-pharmacokinetics-of-orally-administered-calcium-pantothenate-in-healthy-adults). DOI10.29011/JVM-106.100006. Reused primary-verified extraction from **this exact input's**3102/prior 71 records; no new full-text reassessment claimed. - **S08** [NIH ODS, Pantothenic Acid—Health Professional](https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/PantothenicAcid-HealthProfessional/). Updated 2026-05-01; official text accessed 2026-09-17. - **S09** [ClinicalTrials.gov NCT07393191](https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07393191). Same trial as S05; identifier/official indexed title confirmed, detailed historical access limited.

`sources.json`, `study_extractions.json` and `verification_report.md` preserve the exact access, funding, search, calculation and audit links. No next task or production deployment is included in this completed report.