Pyridoxine (vitamin B6)was identified as a separate component of the B-complex family in 1939. It is a water soluble vitamin, readily absorbed through the upper portion of the small intestine. Its absorbancy is increased when in an acid environment. B6 is a family of biologically active chemical entities called pyridoxine, pyridoxamine, and pyridoxol. B6 is stored mostly in the muscles.
Pyridoxine has numerous functions in the body and is of primary importance in the proper action of more than 60 enzymes. Much of the vitamins activity is related to the metabolism of amino acids and other protein related compounds like hemoglobin, serotonin, prostaglandins, and various hormones. B6 is involved in many amino acid reactions including, but not limited to, amination, deamination, decarboxylation, and others.
B6 also aids in the synthesis (building) and degradation (breaking down) of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, the conversion of tryptophan to niacin (another B-complex vitamin), Cholesterol metabolism, and the proper development of red blood cells. Without B6, the body would not be capable of synthesizing many neurotransmitters (chemicals that send electrical impulses along the nerve pathways). Such indispensable chemicals as dopamine, histamine, and serotonin would not be available without pyridoxine.
What would happen to the body without vitamin B6? Some of the classic symptoms are abnormal niacin metabolism and impaired neurotransmitter function. What this would do to the human body is: cause abnormal eeg's (brain readings), mental confusion, poor coordination, depression, irritability, and convulsions. Of course there are always the usual culprits, nausea, vomiting, lethargy, skin eruptions, anemia, and worst of all, supressed immune system.
One will observe, an altered state of vitamin B6 is associated with a variety of chronic (on-going) conditions and disease states. These include asthma, breast and bladder cancers, rheumatoid arthritis, and Hodgkins disease.
Many medications will impair the ability of the body to absorb or metabolizs vitamin B6. Some of the more recognizable of them are the amphetamins (dexedrine), chlorpromazine (thorazine),reserpine (rauwolfia) and oral contraceptives (Ovral, Lo-ovral, Ortho Novum). Surprisingly, the daily requirement for a vitamin of such importance is quite small. Young adults and the elder adults need from one and one half to two milligrams daily, though that depends on the extent of protein ingestion.
There are some, however who need pyridoxine far more than the average adult. Women on oral contraceptives for example, need much more pyridoxine since the oral BC's tend to slow absorption. Patients exposed to radiation, those with heart disease, and those on certain medications are most apt to need higher doses.
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