Supplement analysis backed by scientific evidence · PT

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Limited evidencePhysical performance

Vitamin B15 (Pangamic Acid)

Pangamic acid is not a vitamin, has no agreed chemical identity, and failed the exercise trials that were run in the early 1980s. Products sold under the name have contained different compounds batch to batch, some raising mutagenicity concerns — this is a debunked category, not an underrated one.

What the science says

  • B15 is a vitamin Limited evidence

    It is not. No deficiency state exists, no requirement has ever been established, and no authority recognizes it as a vitamin. Chemical analyses of commercial 'pangamate' products have found wildly inconsistent contents — variously calcium gluconate with glycine, dimethylglycine, diisopropylamine dichloroacetate, or mixtures — meaning two bottles labeled B15 can contain entirely different substances.

  • Improves endurance and oxygen utilization Limited evidence

    The claim came from Soviet-era sports reports and was tested directly in the West. In a controlled trial of maximal treadmill performance, pangamic acid supplementation produced no improvement in treadmill time or VO2 max versus placebo. Rat exercise studies of commercial preparations similarly found no effect on the metabolic response to exercise.

  • Detoxifies, protects the liver, or treats disease Limited evidence

    Claims that B15 treats heart disease, diabetes, autism, asthma or alcoholism trace to uncontrolled Soviet-era reports and promotional literature, with no modern controlled trials supporting any of them. The FDA treated pangamic acid as an unapproved food additive and took enforcement action against sellers in the late 1970s and 1980s; it has never been approved for any therapeutic use.

Dosage & safety

Studied doseThere is no legitimate dose. Historical products supplied 50–150 mg per tablet, taken up to three times daily, but because the actual chemical content varied by manufacturer, those numbers describe a pill rather than a substance. If what you actually want is dimethylglycine (DMG) — often sold as the 'safe' component — buy it under its own name, where at least the content is defined, though its performance evidence is also unconvincing.
SafetyThe core safety problem is that you cannot know what is in the bottle. Some historical preparations contained diisopropylamine dichloroacetate; dichloroacetate is associated with peripheral neuropathy at therapeutic doses, and dichloroacetate-containing pangamate preparations raised mutagenicity concerns in older testing. The FDA has held that pangamic acid is not a recognized nutrient and that products containing it are misbranded or adulterated; it is not legally marketable as a dietary supplement in the US, though products still appear online. Avoid it — nothing in the claimed benefit profile is unavailable from substances with real evidence.

Scientific references

Where to buy

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