Vitamin B-6/ Pyridoxine

The information on this page compiled by
Beth Burch N.D.
Index
(click on the keywords)

Function

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Forms

• Pyridoxine hydrochloride
• Pyridoxal-5-phosphate (activated pyridoxine)

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Food Sources

• Good sources of vitamin B-6 include nutritional yeast, meat, seeds and nuts, whole grains, legumes and bananas.

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Dosage

• Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA)
• Infants- 0.3-0.6 mg
• Children (ages 1-10)- 1.0-1.4 mg
• Adults- 1.5-2.0 mg
• Pregnancy- 2.2 mg
• Lactation- 2.1 mg

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Optimal Supplementation

• 10-25 mg daily

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Treatment of Health Conditions

• 50-500 mg daily. Doses over 150 mg daily should be monitored by a physician.

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Conditions used for

• Asthma ^{(2, 5)}
• High blood pressure ⁽¹⁵⁾
• Carpel tunnel syndrome ^{(3, 14)}
• Chinese restaurant syndrome ⁽⁴⁾
• Chronic fatigue syndrome ⁽¹²⁾
• Depression ⁽⁶⁾
• Epilepsy ⁽¹⁾
• Kidney stones ⁽⁸⁾
• Morning sickness ⁽¹⁶⁾
• Premenstrual syndrome ^(7,10)
• Elevated homocysteine levels (with vitamin B-12 and folic acid) ⁽¹⁷⁾
• Vitamin B-6 deficiency and dependency

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Side effects

• Dosages larger than 150 mg daily over prolonged periods can result in nerve damage characterized by numbness and tingling in the extremities and loss of muscle coordination ⁽¹¹⁾
• Dosages greater than 100 mg daily can inhibit milk production in lactating women

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Contraindications

• Hypersensitivity to pyridoxine products
• Do not take over 100 mg per day in pregnancy or lactation

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Interactions with other nutrients

• Vitamin B-2 and magnesium are needed to activate pyridoxine.
• Vitamin B-6 is necessary for transport of magnesium and zinc across cell membranes

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Interactions with medications and herbs

• Vitamin B-6 is inactivated by hydrazine dyes (especially yellow #5), alcohol, isoniazid, hydralazine, dopamine, penicilliamine.
• Theophylline decreases vitamin B-6 levels ⁽⁹⁾
• Oral contraceptives increase the requirement for vitamin B-6
• Effectiveness of L-dopa is reduced by vitamin B-6 ⁽¹³⁾
• Serum levels of phenobarbital or phenytoin are decreased by pyridoxine

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References

1. Nabbout R et al, Pyridoxine dependent epilepsy: a suggestive electroclinical pattern, Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed 1999;81(2):F125-9
2. Collipp PJ et al, Pyridoxine treatment of childhood bronchial asthma, Ann Allergy 1975 Aug;35(2):93-7
3. Keniston RC et al, Vitamin B6, vitamin C, and carpal tunnel syndrome. A cross-sectional study of 441 adults, J Occup Environ Med 1997;39(10):949-59
4. Folkers K et al, The biochemistry of vitamin B6 is basic to the cause of the Chinese restaurant syndrome, Hoppe Seylers Z Physiol Chem 1984;365(3):405-14
5. Reynolds RD et al, Depressed plasma pyridoxal phosphate concentrations in adult asthmatics, Am J Clin Nutr 1985;41(4):684-8
6. Baldewicz T et al, Plasma pyridoxine deficiency is related to increased psychological distress in recently bereaved homosexual men, Psychosom Med 1998;60(3):297-308
7. Doll H et al, Pyridoxine (vitamin B6) and the premenstrual syndrome: a randomized crossover trial, J R Coll Gen Pract 1989;39(326):364-8
8. Curhan GC et al, Intake of vitamins B6 and C and the risk of kidney stones in women, J Am Soc Nephrol 1999;10(4):840-5
9. Martinez de Haas MG et al, Subnormal vitamin B6 levels in theophylline users, Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd 1997 8;141(45):2176-9
10. Wyatt KM et al, Efficacy of vitamin B-6 in the treatment of premenstrual syndrome: systematic review, BMJ 1999;318(7195):1375-81
11. Berger AR et al, Dose response, coasting, and differential fiber vulnerability in human toxic
neuropathy: a prospective study of pyridoxine neurotoxicity, Neurology 1992;42(7):1367-70
12. Heap LC et al, Vitamin B status in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, J R Soc Med 1999;92(4):183-5
13. Schumann K, Interactions between drugs and vitamins at advanced age, Int J Vitam Nutr Res 1999;69(3):173-8
14. Ellis JM et al, Clinical aspects of treatment of carpel tunnel syndrome with B6, Annals NY Acad Sci 1990;585:302-20
15. Ayback M et al, Effect of oral pyridoxine hydrochloride supplementation on arterial blood pressure in patients with essential hypertension, Arzneim Forsch 1995;45:1271-3
16. Vutyavanich T et al, Pyridoxine for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, Am J Obstet Gynecol 1995;173(3 Pt 1):881-4
17. Selhub J et al, Homocysteine metabolism, Annu Rev Nutr 1999;19:217-46

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* The information presented in this web site is intended to inform and educate. It is not intended replace a qualified medical practitioner to diagnose or treat medical conditions.