6: Final Report on the Safety Assessment of Panthenol and Pantothenic Acid

Abstract

Panthenol is the alcohol analogue of Pantothenic Acid (vitamin B3). The LD50for D-Panthenol administered orally to mice was 15 g/kg. No toxicological effects were associated with the subchronic and/or chronic oral administration of Panthenol to rats. Minimal cutaneous hyperkeratosis was noted in rats in a subchronic dermal study of creams containing 0.2% Panthenol. In ocular irritation studies involving rabbits, concentrations up to 2% produced, at most, slight conjunctival redness and chemosis. Panthenol (100%) and products containing Panthenol (0.5% and 2%) administered to rabbits during skin irritation studies caused reactions ranging from no skin irritation to moderate-to-severe erythema and well-defined edema. Neither teratogenic nor fetotoxic effects were noted in the offspring when rats were fed calcium pantothenate prior to mating and throughout gestation. Skin irritation and sensitization studies of cosmetic products at concentrations up to 0.5% indicated that they were, at most, mild irritants but did not induce allergic sensitization. No test substance-related observations of eye irritation were reported for 23 subjects receiving instillations of products containing 0.1% Panthenol. Mutagenicity and carcinogenicity data were not available for the safety assessment of Panthenol. It is noted that the level of this ingredient required by humans exceeds the amount that could be absorbed from the low concentrations used in cosmetic products. The human metabolic requirement would preclude the likelihood of genotoxicity. It is concluded that Panthenol and Pantothenic Acid are safe as presently used in cosmetics.