Roll Call

“Vitamin B6?”Here!pyridoxine

Synthetic

Appears in 5 scanned products.

As a supplement

Talk to your doctor or pharmacist.

Roll Call does not check drug interactions or assess personal safety.

Vitamin B6 is a water-soluble vitamin that exists in several chemical forms (pyridoxine, pyridoxal, pyridoxamine and their phosphates). It is required for amino acid, glucose, and lipid metabolism and for red blood cell and nervous system function.

Why it’s used

Taken to correct or prevent deficiency and to support normal metabolism and nervous system function.

What the evidence is for

correcting vitamin B6 deficiency and supporting normal metabolism.

What the evidence says

According to NIH's Office of Dietary Supplements, vitamin B6 has an established role in metabolism and deficiency is well characterized, with correction of deficiency reliably improving related symptoms. Evidence for benefits beyond correcting insufficiency — such as mood or cognitive claims sometimes made for B6 supplements — is far weaker and not well supported.

Dose studied

1.3–100 mg — adult RDA up to the tolerable upper intake level, per NIH ODS.

Context

The adult Recommended Dietary Allowance is roughly 1.3 to 1.7 mg per day depending on age and sex; the tolerable upper intake level for adults is set at 100 mg per day due to nerve-related effects seen with prolonged high intake.

Rumors

  1. Correcting vitamin B6 deficiency, which causes microcytic anemia, cracked lips and a swollen tongue, dermatitis, depression and confusion, and seizures in infants.

    Supports — establishedhealth and safety evidence

    Measured as a biomarker.

How much is a reference amount

  • 1.3 mg a dayfor adults 19–50 · Recommended Dietary Allowance

    Upper limit 100 mg a day, from food and supplements together.

  • 1.5 mg a dayfor adults 51–70, women · Recommended Dietary Allowance

    Upper limit 100 mg a day, from food and supplements together.

  • 1.7 mg a dayfor adults 51–70, men · Recommended Dietary Allowance

    Upper limit 100 mg a day, from food and supplements together.

  • 1.5 mg a dayfor adults 71 and over, women · Recommended Dietary Allowance

    Upper limit 100 mg a day, from food and supplements together.

  • 1.7 mg a dayfor adults 71 and over, men · Recommended Dietary Allowance

    Upper limit 100 mg a day, from food and supplements together.

The worksheet planned one adults_19_plus row for B6. The DRI is age-differentiated: it rises at 51, and it differentiates by sex only from 51 onwards. Five rows, not one.

Every applicable line is shown because we don’t know which one is yours, and a reference intake is a target for a population, not a threshold for harm.