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Vitamin B6 deficiency can be caused by disease, drugs, or fast metabolism. It is found in plant and animal foods and is important for amino acid, lipid, and carbohydrate metabolism. Deficiency can cause mood disorders, anemia, seizures, and more. Treatment includes eating foods high in vitamin B6 and taking supplements.
Vitamin B6 deficiency is the result of this vitamin being absorbed into the body by disease, drugs, or unusually fast metabolism. Vitamin B6 exists as pyridoxine, pyridoxal, and pyridoxamine in the human body. These are its three natural forms, which the human body converts to become biologically active. It is also found in plant and animal foods and is a cofactor in the metabolism of certain amino acids, lipids, and carbohydrates. Vitamin B6 is also critically important for nucleic acid biosynthesis.
Vitamin B6 deficiency is rare because it is present in many foods. Foods that are especially high in vitamin B6 include wheat, yeast, soybeans, sunflower seeds, and nuts. When food is cooked, some of this vitamin is removed. Treatment of a vitamin B6 deficiency should include eating extra amounts of these foods. Taking an oral capsule of vitamin B6 is also a treatment option. However, the best treatment is to treat the cause of the deficiency.
Depressed people often experience symptoms of vitamin B6 deficiency, as this vitamin greatly regulates mood disorders. Vitamins B1-B5 also affect mood and mental health, and patients experiencing depression or similar conditions should seek vitamin supplements. Additionally, a vitamin B6 deficiency is usually present in women taking birth control or estrogen. Vitamin B6 is often taken for premenstrual syndrome (PMS), but only small, monitored doses should be consumed.
Drugs such as penicillin, isoniazid, and hydralazine interact with pyridoxal phosphate in the body, causing a vitamin B6 deficiency. A polyneuropathy, or a neurological problem that occurs when several peripheral nerves in the body stop working at the same time, can occur after taking large doses of vitamin B6 for a long period of time. Other symptoms of vitamin B6 deficiency include anemia, seizures, weakness, insomnia, aggression, and mental confusion. Rarely, vitamin B6 loss is a problem in children or infants who have extremely fast metabolisms, and the most common signs of vitamin B6 deficiency in young children are seizures. While no single test can measure vitamin B6 levels, measuring pyridoxal phosphate is the easiest way to detect this vitamin in the body.
Taking extra pyridoxine can usually correct a vitamin B6 deficiency. More pyridoxine should be taken in patients experiencing this vitamin deficiency due to rapid metabolism. Establishing proper levels of vitamin B6 in the body is a slow process, and some patients never reach the recommended levels.
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