Pyridoxine (PN) 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 a person's diet by taking a pill (pharmacy), pill, capsule (pharmacy), capsule, tablet (pharmacy), tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients eithe ...
. As a supplement it is used to treat and prevent
pyridoxine deficiency,
sideroblastic anaemia,
pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy, certain
metabolic disorders, side effects or complications of
isoniazid use, and certain types of
mushroom poisoning
Mushroom poisoning is poisoning resulting from the ingestion of mushrooms that contain toxicity, toxic substances. Signs and symptoms, Symptoms can vary from slight Gastrointestinal tract, gastrointestinal discomfort to death in about 10 days. Mus ...
.
[ 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 gestation, gestates inside a woman's uterus. A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins.
Conception (biology), Conception usually occurs ...
and breastfeeding
Breastfeeding, also known as nursing, is the process where breast milk is fed to a child. Infants may suck the milk directly from the breast, or milk may be extracted with a Breast pump, pump and then fed to the infant. The World Health Orga ...
.[ Pyridoxine is in the vitamin B 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 over 500 amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the Proteinogenic amino acid, 22 α-amino acids incorporated into p ...
, carbohydrates
A carbohydrate () is a biomolecule composed of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) atoms. The typical hydrogen-to-oxygen atomic ratio is 2:1, analogous to that of water, and is represented by the empirical formula (where ''m'' and ''n'' ma ...
, and lipids
Lipids are a broad group of organic compounds which include fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins Vitamin A, A, Vitamin D, D, Vitamin E, E and Vitamin K, K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The fu ...
. Sources in the diet include meat
Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...
, fish
A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...
, fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...
, vegetables
Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including flowers, fruits, ...
, and grain
A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, 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 ...
.
Medical uses
As a treatment (oral or injection), it is used to treat or prevent pyridoxine deficiency, sideroblastic anaemia, pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy, certain metabolic disorders, side effects of isoniazid treatment and certain types of mushroom poisoning
Mushroom poisoning is poisoning resulting from the ingestion of mushrooms that contain toxicity, toxic substances. Signs and symptoms, Symptoms can vary from slight Gastrointestinal tract, gastrointestinal discomfort to death in about 10 days. Mus ...
.[ 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 pathogenic bacteria, bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the therapy ...
used for the treatment of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
. 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 is used as a treatment for morning sickness
Morning sickness, also called nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP), is a symptom of pregnancy. Despite the name, nausea or vomiting can occur at any time during the day. Typically the symptoms occur between the 4th and 16th weeks of pregnan ...
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 pregnancy
Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring gestation, gestates inside a woman's uterus. A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins.
Conception (biology), Conception usually occurs ...
and breastfeeding
Breastfeeding, also known as nursing, is the process where breast milk is fed to a child. Infants may suck the milk directly from the breast, or milk may be extracted with a Breast pump, pump and then fed to the infant. The World Health Orga ...
.[
]
Mechanism
Pyridoxine is in the vitamin B family of vitamins.[ It is required by the body to make ]amino acids
Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although over 500 amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the Proteinogenic amino acid, 22 α-amino acids incorporated into p ...
, carbohydrates
A carbohydrate () is a biomolecule composed of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) atoms. The typical hydrogen-to-oxygen atomic ratio is 2:1, analogous to that of water, and is represented by the empirical formula (where ''m'' and ''n'' ma ...
, and lipids
Lipids are a broad group of organic compounds which include fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins Vitamin A, A, Vitamin D, D, Vitamin E, E and Vitamin K, K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The fu ...
.[ Sources in the diet include ]fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...
, vegetables
Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including flowers, fruits, ...
, and grain
A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, 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 ...
.[
It is also required for muscle phosphorylase activity associated with glycogen metabolism.
]
Metabolism
The half-life of pyridoxine varies according to different sources: one source suggests that the half-life of ''pyridoxine'' is up to 20 days, while another source indicates half-life of ''vitamin B6'' is in range of 25 to 33 days. After considering the different sources, it can be concluded that the half-life of pyridoxine is typically measured in several weeks.
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 s ...
. 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 product.[ Foods, such as ]breakfast cereal
Breakfast cereal is a category of food, including food products, made from food processing, processed cereal, cereal grains, that are eaten as part of breakfast or as a snack food, primarily in Western societies.
Although warm, cooked cereals li ...
have pyridoxine added in some countries.[
]
References
External links
*
*
*
{{Authority control
B vitamins
Hydroxypyridines
World Health Organization essential medicines
Wikipedia medicine articles ready to translate
Cofactors
Primary alcohols
Triols
pt:Piridoxina