  We consider a dark energy scenario driven by a scalar field $\phi$ with a
pseudo Nambu Goldstone boson (pNGB) type potential $V(\phi)=\mu^4 \left( 1+
{\rm cos}(\phi/f) \right)$. The pNGB originates out of breaking of spontaneous
symmetry at a scale $f$ close to Planck mass $M_{\rm{pl}}$. We consider two
cases namely the quintessence dark energy and the other, where the standard
pNGB action is modified by the terms related to Slotheon cosmology. We
demonstrate that for this pNGB potential, high-$f$ problem is better addressed
when interaction between dark matter and dark energy is taken into account and
that Slotheon dark energy scenario works even better over quintessence in this
respect. To this end, a mass limit for dark matter is also estimated.
