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Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) Chemical Structures Food Sources Vitamin B6 in the Body Stability Home Page Vitamin B6 Crystals Copied without permission from Roche Product Information

Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) Vitamin B6, or pyridoxine is one of the water soluble B-vitamins. By replacing the -CH2OH group on position 4 of the pyridoxine molecule with -CH2NH2 and -CHO respectively, two related compounds, pyridoxamine and pyridoxal can be formed which are also vitamin active. Did You Know? The full chemical name of pyridoxine is 2-methyl-3-hydroxy-4,5-bis(hydroxy-methyl)pyridine! Top Chemical Structures Fig.1 The Chemical Structure of Pyridoxol (Pyridoxine) 3D Structure of Pyridoxol Fig.2 The Chemical Structure of Pyridoxal Fig.3 The Chemical Structure of Pyridoxamine Top Principal Sources in Food In food, Vitamin B6 is usually bound to protein, pyridoxol being the prominent form in plants, and pyridoxal and pyridoxamine in animal products. Major dietary sources of pyridoxine include: Chicken Liver Yeast Extract Fish, particularly: Tuna Trout Herring Halibut Salmon Nuts Whole grains Very few fruit and vegetables: Beans Cauliflowers Bananas Raisins Top Vitamin B6 in the Body In the body, pyridoxine is normally stored as pyridoxal-5-phosphate (PLP), the coenzyme form of the vitamin. It is needed for: Metabolism of amino acids Cellular metabolism of carbohydrate, protein and fat Formation of neurotransmitters Production of nicotinic acid (vitamin B3) Top Stability Vitamin B6 is quite stable to heat but is sensitive to air, UV light and alkali. Top

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