Pyridoxine, is a form of vitamin B₆ found commonly in food and used as a

dietary supplement A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement one's diet by taking a pill, capsule, tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients either extracted from food sources or that are synthetic in order ...

. As a supplement it is used to treat and prevent

pyridoxine deficiency Vitamin B6 is one of the B vitamins, and thus an essential nutrient. The term refers to a group of six chemically similar compounds, i.e., "vitamers", which can be interconverted in biological systems. Its active form, pyridoxal phosphate, pyr ...

sideroblastic anaemia Sideroblastic anemia, or sideroachrestic anemia, is a form of anemia in which the bone marrow produces ringed sideroblasts rather than healthy red blood cells (erythrocytes). In sideroblastic anemia, the body has iron available but cannot incorpor ...

pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy Pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy (PDE) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by intractable seizures in the prenatal and neonatal period. The disorder was first recognized in the 1950s, with the first description provided by Hunt et al. in 1954. ...

, certain

metabolic disorders A metabolic disorder is a disorder that negatively alters the body's processing and distribution of macronutrients, such as Protein, proteins, Fat, fats, and Carbohydrate, carbohydrates. Metabolic disorders can happen when abnormal chemical react ...

, side effects or complications of

isoniazid Isoniazid, also known as isonicotinic acid hydrazide (INH), is an antibiotic used for the treatment of tuberculosis. For active tuberculosis it is often used together with rifampicin, pyrazinamide, and either streptomycin or ethambutol. For l ...

use, and certain types of

mushroom poisoning Mushroom poisoning is poisoning resulting from the ingestion of mushrooms that contain toxic substances. Its symptoms can vary from slight gastrointestinal discomfort to death in about 10 days. Mushroom toxins are secondary metabolites produced by ...

. It is used by mouth or by injection. It is usually well tolerated. Occasionally side effects include headache, numbness, and sleepiness. Normal doses are safe during

pregnancy Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occurs by sexual intercourse, but ca ...

and

breastfeeding Breastfeeding, or nursing, is the process by which human breast milk is fed to a child. Breast milk may be from the breast, or may be expressed by hand or pumped and fed to the infant. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that br ...

. Pyridoxine is in the

vitamin B B vitamins are a class of water-soluble vitamins that play important roles in cell metabolism and synthesis of red blood cells. Though these vitamins share similar names (B1, B2, B3, etc.), they are chemically distinct compounds that often coexist ...

family of vitamins. It is required by the body to metabolise

amino acids Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although hundreds of amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the alpha-amino acids, which comprise proteins. Only 22 alpha am ...

carbohydrates In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or may ...

, and

lipids Lipids are a broad group of naturally-occurring molecules which includes fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The functions of lipids include ...

. Sources in the diet include

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

vegetables Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...

, and

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...

Medical uses

As a treatment (oral or injection), it is used to treat or prevent

, certain

, side effects of

treatment and certain types of

. Isoniazid is an

antibiotic An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention of ...

used for the treatment of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

. Common side effect include numbness in the hands and feet. Co-treatment with vitamin B₆ alleviates the numbness. Pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy is a type of rare infant epilepsy that does not improve with typical anti-seizure medications. Pyridoxine in combination with

doxylamine Doxylamine, sold under the brand name Unisom among others, is an antihistamine medication which is used in the treatment of insomnia and allergies. In combination with pyridoxine ( vitamin B6), it is also used to treat morning sickness in pre ...

is used as a treatment for

morning sickness Morning sickness, also called nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP), is a symptom of pregnancy that involves nausea or vomiting. Despite the name, nausea or vomiting can occur at any time during the day. Typically the symptoms occur between th ...

in pregnant women.

Side effects

It is usually well tolerated, though overdose toxicity is possible. Occasionally side effects include headache, numbness, and sleepiness. Pyridoxine overdose can cause a peripheral sensory neuropathy characterized by poor coordination, numbness, and decreased sensation to touch, temperature, and vibration. Healthy human blood levels of pyridoxine are 2.1 - 21.7 ng/mL. Normal doses are safe during

and

Mechanism

Pyridoxine is in the

family of vitamins. It is required by the body to make

, and

. Sources in the diet include

, and

. It is also required for muscle phosphorylase activity associated with glycogen metabolism.

History

Pyridoxine was discovered in 1934, isolated in 1938, and first made in 1939. It is on the

World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines The WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (aka Essential Medicines List or EML), published by the World Health Organization (WHO), contains the medications considered to be most effective and safe to meet the most important needs in a health ...

. Pyridoxine is available both as a

generic medication A generic drug is a pharmaceutical drug that contains the same chemical substance as a drug that was originally protected by chemical patents. Generic drugs are allowed for sale after the patents on the original drugs expire. Because the active ch ...

and

over the counter Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are medicines sold directly to a consumer without a requirement for a prescription from a healthcare professional, as opposed to prescription drugs, which may be supplied only to consumers possessing a valid prescr ...

product. Foods, such as

breakfast cereal Cereal, formally termed breakfast cereal (and further categorized as cold cereal or warm cereal), is a traditional breakfast food made from processed cereal grains. It is traditionally eaten as part of breakfast, or a snack food, primarily in ...

have pyridoxine added in some countries.

References

External links

* *
Pyridoxine mass spectrum
{{Authority control B vitamins Hydroxypyridines World Health Organization essential medicines Wikipedia medicine articles ready to translate Cofactors Primary alcohols Diols pt:Piridoxina