Vitamin B6 Uses

Vitamin B6 is used to prevent and treat a vitamin deficiency caused by a poor diet, certain medical conditions, or side effects of certain medications. 

In addition, it is used to treat seizures in infants with a condition called pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy. It is also used to treat a type of inherited anemia called sideroblastic anemia. Vitamin B6 may be used to treat hyperhomocysteinemia (high homocysteine levels) along with other homocysteine-lowering interventions like folic acid supplementation. Other uses of vitamin B6 are to treat morning sickness in early pregnancy, premenstrual syndrome (PMS symptoms), kidney stones, and high prolactin levels caused by antipsychotic medications. 

However, clinical trials have not found vitamin B6 to be effective in treating chronic diseases, including mild cognitive impairment, cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer’s disease, and carpal tunnel syndrome. It does not lower cancer risk and does not have a role in cancer prevention (colorectal cancer, breast cancer, and other types of cancers).

There may be other uses of vitamin B6—your pharmacist or doctor can give you further drug information.

Vitamin B6 Mechanism of Action

Vitamin B6 is a supplement. It works by filling gaps in the diet based on dietary reference intakes (the recommended intake of nutrients and the tolerable upper intake level).

Vitamin B6 Doses

The recommended dietary allowances (amounts of vitamin B6 that should be consumed daily as determined by the Food and Nutrition Board and European Food Safety Authority) are as follows:

• Children: Varies by age
• Men and women 19-50 years old: 1.3 mg daily 
• Women over 50 years old: 1.5 mg daily 
• Men over 50 years old: 1.7 mg daily 
• Pregnant women: 1.9 mg daily
• Breast-feeding women: 2 mg daily

Vitamin B6 comes in the form of oral tablets to treat vitamin deficiency diseases. The usual dose of pyridoxine supplementation in adults is 50 mg by mouth once a day or as prescribed by health professionals. 

Note: Vitamin B6 is present in many vitamin supplements, including B complex vitamins, folic acid supplements, and multivitamins. Check the labels of all your vitamin supplementation products and make sure you are not getting vitamin B6 from multiple sources because large doses can be harmful.