Vitamin B6 deficiency: symptoms, causes and treatment
Cracked corners of the mouth, tingling in your feet, irritable mood? Vitamin B6 builds messenger substances and blood pigment. A true deficiency is rare, while too much from tablets harms your nerves. Which symptoms are proven, which blood value counts and how much is too much.
Aktualisiert 1 October 2026 · 16 Min. Lesezeit · 55 Quellen
The key points in 30 seconds
Recommended intake from the DGE: women 1.4 mg, men 1.6 mg a day, up to 1.8 mg in pregnancy. A banana, 200 g of potatoes and a piece of salmon easily cover that between them.
According to the EFSA, this much vitamin B6 from all sources has counted as safe long term since 2023; before that the figure was 25 mg. You can't get there through food, but you can quickly get there with supplements.
of men and women don't reach the intake that was recommended at the time, according to the National Consumption Study, though the median for both is well above it. A true deficiency in the blood is rare in Germany.
Tingling and numbness in your hands and feet can be a sign of a deficiency and of an overdose. If you take B6 supplements and get tingling, stop taking them; a blood test tells the two apart.
Vitamin B6 deficiency symptoms: how to spot it
Vitamin B6, also known as pyridoxine, works in more than 100 enzyme reactions: it builds messenger substances like serotonin and dopamine, the red blood pigment and niacin from tryptophan, and it helps process protein. If you don't get enough, it hits your skin and mouth, nerves and blood, often with irritability on top. A true deficiency is rare and almost always has a cause from chapter 2.
Vitamin B6 deficiency and your skin: corners of the mouth, tongue, flaky patches
The most visible signs show up on your face: cracked corners of the mouth (cheilosis), an inflamed, smooth tongue (glossitis) and greasy, flaky, reddened skin around the nose, mouth and eyebrows, known as seborrhoeic dermatitis. The EFSA, NIH and MSD Manual all list the three, but the studies on them are old. A lack of iron, vitamin B2 or B12 causes the same cracked corners, and seborrhoeic dermatitis usually has nothing to do with vitamins. A look at your lips is no substitute for a blood test.
Nerves: tingling in your hands and feet
When PLP, the active form of B6, runs short, the long nerve fibres suffer: tingling, numbness and burning in the feet and hands, on both sides, known as polyneuropathy. It is mainly described in people with alcohol dependency, on the tuberculosis drug isoniazid and during dialysis. In severe deficiency, confusion, altered brain waves and seizures can follow. The tricky part: the same tingling appears when someone takes too much B6 from supplements over several months (chapter 5). And tingling in the feet has two far more common causes: diabetes and vitamin B12 deficiency.
Vitamin B6 deficiency and mood: irritability, restlessness, low mood
B6 helps make serotonin, dopamine, noradrenaline and GABA, the brain's main calming messenger. That's why irritability appears in every description of deficiency. In a depletion study, two of eight women showed altered brain waves after twelve days on almost no B6. For depression and anxiety the evidence is thinner: the NIH lists low mood as a sign, while the MSD Manual calls the link “uncertain”. The much-cited study in which B6 lowered anxiety gave healthy young people 100 mg a day, eight times the upper limit. It doesn't prove a deficiency.
What really fits a vitamin B6 deficiency
Ten complaints from search queries and forums, and what the studies actually say about them.
| What the studies say | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| Cracked corners of the mouth, sore tongue, scaly skin | EFSA, NIH and MSD Manual all list the three; studies are old | Proven |
| Tingling, numbness (polyneuropathy) | Described with alcohol, isoniazid, dialysis; also a sign of overdose | Proven |
| Irritability, confusion, seizures | Depletion studies, infant cases from the 1950s | Proven |
| Anaemia (small, pale cells) | Mechanism is clear, rare in practice | Proven, rare |
| Depression, anxiety | NIH yes, MSD Manual “uncertain”; studies only with high doses | Possible |
| Susceptibility to infections | Animal and depletion studies, non-specific | Possible |
| PMS, period pain | Treatment studies with 80 to 100 mg, low quality | Not a sign of deficiency |
| Sweating, racing heart, hair loss | No study links these to B6 deficiency | Unproven |
| Weight gain, sleep problems, menopause | No study; 240 mg of B6 only changed dream recall | Unproven |
| Muscle twitching, muscle pain | Only described as signs of overdose (fasciculations) | Not a sign of deficiency |
Based on EFSA 2016, NIH ODS 2023, MSD Manual 2026, Kretsch 1991, Field 2022, Wyatt 1999, Almohanna 2019, Adventure-Heart 2018 and a keyword search in Europe PMC. As of 30 September 2026.
Vitamin B6 deficiency symptoms in women
Three things are different. During pregnancy, your requirement rises to 1.5 to 1.8 mg, and the blood level drops on its own without anything actually being missing. On the pill, most users in the large US survey had low PLP levels. The researchers themselves call it “unclear” whether that's a true deficiency, and symptoms caused by the pill are not proven. PMS was treated with 80 to 100 mg of B6, in low-quality studies and far above the upper limit. None of them shows that PMS is caused by B6 deficiency. For menopause and hair loss, there is no evidence.
Blood: when red blood cells stay small
PLP kicks off the production of haem, the red blood pigment. Without B6, small, pale red blood cells form. The blood count looks like iron deficiency, except the iron level is normal. This microcytic anaemia is the classic lab finding, but rare in practice. If you're anaemic, the first step is to have iron, B12 and folate checked. B6 comes into play if you have a risk factor from chapter 2.
Sweating, weight gain, racing heart: what doesn't fit with B6 deficiency
For the three most-searched complaints, no specialist source or study found a link with B6 deficiency. Sweating belongs, if anywhere, to vitamin B1, and even there only to the severe heart form; you'll find the explanation in the vitamin B1 article. Racing heart and weight gain don't appear in any description of B6 deficiency; with a severe deficiency, you're more likely to lose your appetite. If you have these complaints, look at your thyroid, iron, blood sugar, menopause, medication and sleep.
Tingling or numbness that gets worse over weeks, corners of the mouth that won't heal despite care, or anaemia with a normal iron level: get a blood test. Seizures, sudden confusion or unsteadiness when walking are an emergency. If you take B6 supplements and get tingling, stop taking them straight away.
Vitamin B6 deficiency causes: who's really at risk
Too little on your plate is almost never the reason: men consume a median of 2.3 mg a day, women 1.8 mg. A deficiency arises in four ways: medication that blocks or uses up B6, alcohol, loss through the kidneys during dialysis, and inflammation or bowel disease. First your requirement, then the routes.
What is a vitamin B6 depleter?
The term from search queries means medication that inactivates B6 or speeds up its breakdown. The best-documented case is the tuberculosis drug isoniazid: it blocks PLP so reliably that the US agency CDC recommends 25 to 50 mg of pyridoxine alongside it for patients at risk. Others include antiepileptics such as valproate, carbamazepine and phenytoin, plus theophylline, hydralazine, penicillamine, cycloserine and cortisone. For the Parkinson's drug levodopa/carbidopa, the mechanism is plausible, but according to a 2026 review the data is inconsistent. If you take any of these, talk to your doctor about B6. Conversely, B6 can weaken the effect of levodopa and antiepileptics.
B6 depleters: medication that lowers your level
Active substances with a documented effect on vitamin B6, and what follows from that.
| Used for | What happens to B6 | What to do | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isoniazid | Tuberculosis | Blocks PLP, nerve damage in at-risk groups | Pyridoxine given alongside under medical supervision (CDC: 25 to 50 mg) |
| Valproate, carbamazepine, phenytoin | Epilepsy | Speed up breakdown, PLP falls, homocysteine rises | Only supplement after talking to your doctor; B6 lowers phenytoin levels |
| Levodopa/carbidopa | Parkinson's | Carbidopa binds PLP; neuropathy reported, causality unclear | Monitor blood level over time, no self-medication; B6 from 5 mg weakens levodopa |
| Hydralazine, penicillamine, cycloserine | Blood pressure, rheumatism, tuberculosis | Bind or use up B6 | Raise it at your surgery, blood test if you have symptoms |
| Theophylline | Asthma, COPD | Low PLP levels common, seizure risk | Blood test if you have nerve symptoms |
| Cortisone (long-term) | Inflammation | Increased breakdown (MSD Manual) | Only test if you have symptoms |
| Contraceptive pill | Contraception | PLP often lower, significance unclear | No supplement needed; test if you have symptoms |
Based on NIH ODS 2023, MSD Manual 2026, CDC, Sielaff 2026 (scoping review) and the prescribing information for Vitamin B6 20 mg. No dosage recommendation; changes to medication only under medical supervision.
Vitamin B6 deficiency from alcohol, kidney disease and dialysis
Alcohol is the classic cause: its breakdown product acetaldehyde destroys PLP faster than the liver can make it. In an old, small study, 35 of 66 people with alcohol dependence were below the lowest value of 94 healthy people; after a month of abstinence, levels rose again. The second group is people with kidney disease: during dialysis, PLP is lost with the blood, and in a 2026 survey 63% of dialysis patients not taking a supplement were deficient. In these cases, B6 is usually supplemented in a targeted way, managed by nephrology.
Rheumatism, gut, age, the pill: who else has low levels
In rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and coeliac disease, low PLP levels are common. Part of that isn't a lack of intake: with inflammation, PLP moves from the blood into the inflamed tissue, so the level drops without anything actually missing; 50 mg of pyridoxine normalised the level in rheumatism but didn't reduce the inflammation. With age, when smoking and on the pill, PLP also falls regardless of what you eat. Two bits of reassurance: being vegan is not a risk, and according to a review, vegans actually take in more B6 on average (2.8 instead of 1.8 mg); and after stomach surgery, too much B6 is nowadays more of a problem than too little (chapter 7).
How vitamin B6 works in the body
Three stages from plate to cell. Once you know them, you'll see why alcohol, vitamin B2 and the kidneys determine your level, and why a tablet can't do more than food.
Absorption in the small intestine
Vitamin B6 from fish, poultry, potatoes, pulses and bananas is absorbed in the upper small intestine, around 75% of it from a mixed diet. The plant storage form, a glucoside, is only about half as available, but makes up just 15% or so of a mixed diet. Crohn's disease and coeliac disease slow absorption.
Conversion to PLP in the liver
Only in the liver, kidneys and brain does pyridoxine become the active form, pyridoxal-5-phosphate (PLP), and that takes vitamin B2 and zinc. There's no big store: your blood level follows your intake within a week, and any excess leaves in your urine as pyridoxic acid. Alcohol breaks PLP down faster than the liver can replace it.
Effect: more than 100 enzymes
PLP helps over 100 enzymes do their job: it converts amino acids, forms serotonin, dopamine, GABA and histamine, kick-starts the red blood pigment haem, releases sugar from glycogen and clears homocysteine together with folic acid and B12. That's why a deficiency hits skin, nerves, mood and blood all at once.
Identifying vitamin B6 deficiency: blood level and test
A single blood test shows whether you're short of B6 or have too much of it. It matters if you suspect a deficiency, and if you get tingling while taking supplements. Here's the test, its thresholds, the two traps when interpreting it, and the “too high” case.
Vitamin B6 deficiency test: what the PLP level shows
The test measures pyridoxal-5-phosphate (PLP) in plasma or EDTA blood, protected from light and taken fasting. As a guide: below 20 nmol/l a deficiency is likely, 20 to 30 is borderline, above 30 is adequate; German labs print their own ranges in µg/l. Two traps: with inflammation, in pregnancy and in older age, the level is lower without anything being missing, which is why CRP should be tested alongside it. And the MSD Manual is clear: the diagnosis is clinical, and a lab value without symptoms and risk factors proves nothing. If you pay yourself, the test costs around €33 in lab fees plus the doctor's fee; for at-risk groups, health insurance usually covers it. Finger-prick home tests have no validation study.
Vitamin B6 too high: what a high blood level means
A raised B6 level almost always comes from a tablet: B-complex, magnesium with B6, zinc with B6, multivitamins, energy drinks. The lab LADR reports such values “more and more often”, and after stomach surgery, 57% of patients at a Swiss clinic had too much B6 and nobody had too little. “Too high without supplements” is rare and has two known causes: the bone disease hypophosphatasia and acute liver cell damage; you can't reach a raised level through food. What to do: stop all supplements containing B6, re-test after four weeks, and if you get tingling or numbness, go to your surgery straight away (chapter 5). No lab gives a fixed “critical” value; the reference range on your results is the limit.
If you take a supplement with vitamin B6, tell your surgery; otherwise the result shows the supplement. If you have tingling in your feet, ask for vitamin B12, folic acid, blood sugar and a full blood count to be checked at the same time, as these are the more common causes.
Fixing a vitamin B6 deficiency without overdosing
With B6, deficiency and overdose sit close together: the safe upper limit is only eight times the requirement, many supplements exceed it, and the warning sign for both is the same tingling. So first fix the deficiency, then ask how much is too much.
Fixing a vitamin B6 deficiency: food, tablet or cause?
The order is always the same: cause first, because otherwise the deficiency comes back, then food, then, if a deficiency is confirmed, a medicine. For a mild deficiency, the prescribing information gives 20 to 25 mg a day, the MSD Manual 50 to 100 mg, and for isoniazid 25 to 50 mg; these are medical doses far above the upper limit, time-limited and monitored, not a recommendation for food supplements. How long: in studies, blood levels normalise within about 30 days. Nerves take longer, six to eight weeks in two case reports, often months; there's no proven timeline for skin and blood count. Morning or evening doesn't matter, as there's no study on it.
Vitamin B6 overdose: at what amount does it get dangerous?
Never through food; all known cases come from supplements or medicines. In 2023, the EFSA lowered the safe upper limit to 12 mg a day, from all sources, including for pregnant and breastfeeding women; before that, 25 mg applied. This is based on 50 mg, the level from which nerve damage after more than six months is firmly established, divided by a safety factor of 4. The EFSA found no lower threshold below which nothing happens: the Dutch reporting system counts 238 reports of nerve damage, 79 of them at 12 mg or less. Since 2022, Australia has required a warning on the label from 10 mg.
Symptoms of a vitamin B6 overdose
The damage hits the sensory nerves: tingling, numbness and burning in your feet and hands, plus impaired position and vibration sense that makes you unsteady when walking. Strength and brain function are usually spared. In the reference study, bone pain, muscle weakness and muscle twitching were added to the list; so muscle twitching is a sign of too much, not of too little. The NIH also lists skin changes, sensitivity to light, nausea and heartburn. The higher the dose, the faster it happens: gram doses act within months, 200 mg within years. After stopping, 55% of the women reported improvement after three months and all of them after six; the MSD Manual still warns that recovery is slow and incomplete for some.
With vitamin B6, the question is almost never whether someone has too little, but why they think they need more. If you feel tired and take a B-complex, you're topping up a barrel that's already full, and the excess ends up in your urine. Add magnesium with B6 and a sports product and you're quickly at 20 or 30 milligrams without noticing. My advice: test first, then add up the packs, and if you get tingling, stop everything.
Joerg Hauke, Nutrition expert, expert review of this article
Tingling: too little or too much vitamin B6?
This vitamin's paradox, in the words of the Australian medicines authority: the most common signs of B6 toxicity resemble those of deficiency. A cell study offers a possible explanation: the inactive pyridoxine from tablets displaces the active form, PLP, at the enzymes; in humans, this is a hypothesis. What counts for you is the history: tingling without a supplement plus alcohol, dialysis, rheumatism or isoniazid points to deficiency; tingling with a supplement points to too much, and then stopping is the treatment. The blood level tells the two apart reliably: in the overdose case series, PLP averaged thirty times the normal limit.
Vitamin B6 side effects and hidden sources
Up to the upper limit, B6 has no known side effects; everything above that is covered further up. The problem is the total: B6 is in magnesium supplements, in the social media trend "zinc plus B6", in every B-complex, in multivitamins, protein powders and energy drinks. The TGA advises doctors to check exactly these combinations in cases of neuropathy; one man drank six energy drinks a day, 31 mg of B6, and developed neuropathy. With the zinc trend, the zinc alone is already a problem for your copper from 25 mg (zinc deficiency article). Magnesium and B6 together do no harm, but have no proven benefit for healthy people (magnesium deficiency article). And one observational signal: in a US cohort, men taking over 20 mg of B6 a day for ten years had almost double the risk of lung cancer. That's no proof, but it's one more reason to hold back.
Tingling, numbness or burning in your hands or feet while you're taking a supplement with vitamin B6, including magnesium or zinc combinations: stop all B6 sources, get your PLP measured and take the packs with you to the surgery. Don't wait it out: recovery takes months and isn't always complete.
Vitamin B6 foods: where you'll find the most
B6 is widely spread, much like vitamin B5: fish, poultry and pork deliver the most per portion, potatoes, bananas, peppers and pulses provide the biggest share in everyday eating, and nuts and seeds lead per 100 g. The bars show the top 10 per 100 g, as eaten, according to USDA; deviations in the German BLS are in the note.
Vitamin B6 per 100 g: top 10 plant-based and animal-based
USDA SR Legacy 2018, nuts and seeds dry, banana raw. In portions: 30 g pistachios 0.51 mg, 30 g sunflower seeds 0.40, 1 tbsp wheat germ 0.13, 30 g hazelnuts 0.17, 1 banana 0.44 mg. In everyday eating, quantity is what counts: 200 g potatoes boiled in their skins 0.60 mg (BLS: 0.21), one red pepper 0.44, 150 g spinach 0.36, 150 g soya beans 0.35, 150 g lentils 0.27 mg.
Vitamin B6 foods: fish, potatoes, pulses, nuts
One piece of salmon, tuna or turkey breast covers your day on its own. Without fish and meat, your day works differently, and works well: potatoes are the underrated main source (200 g boiled in their skins give 0.6 mg according to USDA, 0.2 mg according to BLS), plus banana, red pepper, spinach, pulses and a handful of seeds or pistachios. Your body only absorbs about half of the glucoside form from plants; according to a review, vegans are still better supplied than people who eat meat, simply because they eat more of it. Milk, cheese and eggs provide little, white flour and sugar nothing. Liver is rich in B6, but because of its high vitamin A content, it's not an everyday recommendation.
Which fruit has the most vitamin B6?
The banana: 0.37 mg per 100 g according to USDA, 0.26 according to BLS. One banana provides around 0.3 to 0.44 mg, so a quarter to a third of what you need. Next comes avocado (0.26), then, by a wide margin, mango and pineapple (0.11 each), honeydew melon and grapes. Apples, pears, berries and citrus fruits come in at 0.04 to 0.06 mg. And the second question from the search queries: oats are not a B6 source at 0.05 mg per 50 g, while the banana in your porridge provides nine times as much.
How to keep vitamin B6 when you cook
B6 is sturdier than vitamin C and B1: cooking usually keeps 85 to 95% of it, and what's lost ends up in the cooking water. Potatoes in their skins (95%), steamed vegetables (90%), baked fish (90%) and hard-boiled eggs (95%) lose the least. Beef roasted in the oven (50% left), boiled chicken without the broth (50%) and pulses simmered for two hours (50%) lose the most. Tinned vegetables contain 57 to 77% less than fresh, frozen vegetables 35 to 48% less; tinned chickpeas barely lose anything. Milk in a clear bottle left in the light can lose up to half within hours.
Vitamin B6 in everyday life: drinkable meals
On days of canteen lunches, sandwiches and sweet snacks, the very food groups that supply B6 are missing. A drinkable meal is then a reliable contribution with no risk of overdosing: depending on the flavour, one bottle of Saturo contains 0.35 to 0.41 mg of vitamin B6, 25 to 29% of the reference value, plus 25 other vitamins and minerals, 36 g of protein and 400 kcal. That's far below any upper limit, and it doesn't replace treatment for a diagnosed deficiency. If you take B6 supplements, count the bottle in as well.
Drinkable meal: a complete meal in a bottle
26 vitamins and minerals, including vitamins B6, B1, B12 and folic acid. One bottle provides 0.35 to 0.41 mg of vitamin B6, which is 25 to 29% of the reference value of 1.4 mg per day (NRV).
Vitamin B6 in pregnancy, histamine intolerance, PMS and sport
Four situations from search queries where the answer isn't ‘more’: pregnancy with nausea, histamine intolerance, PMS and high-protein sport. Plus a line on infants and stomach surgery.
Vitamin B6 in pregnancy and for pregnancy nausea
Your needs rise to 1.5 mg in the first trimester and 1.8 mg from the second, and normal food covers that. For pregnancy nausea, pyridoxine has been used for decades, on its own or with doxylamine. Embryotox, the advisory centre at the Charité, sees no signs of malformations, and the EFSA confirms this up to 60 mg a day. According to Cochrane, the evidence for its effectiveness is limited, and it works better with doxylamine than on its own. Therapeutic doses (Embryotox: 100 to 200 mg at most) are above the upper limit of 12 mg, which also applies to pregnant women. That's why your gynaecologist sets them, not the chemist. While breastfeeding: the requirement is 1.6 mg, and usual supplements are safe; only mega-doses of around 600 mg can inhibit milk production.
Histamine intolerance, PMS, sport and infants: what B6 has to do with them
Histamine intolerance: Online, you'll read that B6 activates the DAO enzyme that breaks histamine down. The specialist sources don't say that: DAO depends on copper, and PLP actually helps build histamine. We found no study showing that B6 helps with histamine intolerance; if you try it, stay under 12 mg. PMS: Older studies with up to 100 mg showed an improvement, but the BMJ review rates their quality as low. Doses like that are a matter for your doctor. Sport and protein: Your requirement is tied to protein, but within the usual range the EFSA sees no extra need, and losses through sweat are negligible. If you eat a lot of protein, you automatically eat more B6. The LGL Bavaria has classed sports products with 50 to 500 mg as unsafe. Infants: Seizures that don't respond to anti-epileptic drugs can be the rare pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy, a hereditary condition treated with high doses in a children's hospital.
Frequently asked questions about vitamin B6 deficiency
How do you notice a vitamin B6 deficiency?
Cracked corners of the mouth, an inflamed tongue and flaky skin around the nose and mouth, tingling in your hands and feet, irritability and low mood. A severe deficiency can bring anaemia, confusion and seizures. A true deficiency is rare and almost always has a cause: alcohol, dialysis, rheumatism, bowel disease or medication.
What is a vitamin B6 depleter?
Medicines that block B6 or break it down faster: the tuberculosis drug isoniazid, anti-epileptics such as valproate and phenytoin, theophylline, hydralazine, penicillamine, cycloserine, cortisone taken for longer periods, and, to a limited extent, levodopa and the pill. Alcohol too, since its breakdown product destroys the active form.
Is 20 mg of vitamin B6 too much?
For long-term use, yes: since 2023 the EFSA has set the safe upper limit at 12 mg a day from all sources, and the BfR proposes 0.9 mg for food supplements. 20 mg is a medicinal dose for treating a confirmed deficiency, time-limited and under medical supervision. If you get tingling, stop taking it.
How long does it take for vitamin B6 to be broken down?
Your blood level follows your intake within a week, and the excess leaves your body in the urine as pyridoxic acid. Nerve damage after an overdose takes months to recover: in the reference study, everyone had recovered after six months, while according to the MSD Manual, recovery is sometimes incomplete.
What is vitamin B6 called in a blood test?
Pyridoxal-5-phosphate, PLP or PALP for short, measured in plasma or EDTA blood and protected from light. Below 20 nmol/l counts as deficient, 20 to 30 as borderline and above 30 as sufficient; German labs print their own ranges in µg/l. Inflammation, pregnancy and age lower the value without anything actually being missing.
Can a vitamin B6 deficiency lead to weight gain?
There's no evidence for that. No specialist source or study lists weight gain as a sign of deficiency; with a severe deficiency, you're more likely to lose your appetite. If you're gaining weight and feeling tired, get your thyroid, blood sugar and iron checked. A B6 supplement won't help you lose weight.
Does it make sense to take magnesium and vitamin B6 together?
Taking the two together is not harmful as long as you stay below the upper limit, but there's no proof of a benefit for healthy people. What matters more is the total: magnesium-B6 supplements contain several milligrams of B6, and with a B-complex, zinc combos or energy drinks you can easily go over 12 mg a day. If you get tingling, stop everything.
Which vitamin B6 for histamine intolerance?
None with proof. The claim that B6 activates the DAO breakdown enzyme isn't in any specialist source: DAO needs copper, and PLP even helps with the formation of histamine. There's no study on B6 for histamine intolerance. If you still want to try it, stay under 12 mg a day and avoid high-dose supplements.
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- Lareb (Netherlands Pharmacovigilance Centre): Nerve damage due to the use of nutritional supplements with vitamin B6 (13 November 2024).
- van Hunsel F. et al.: Vitamin B6 in Health Supplements and Neuropathy: Case Series Assessment of Spontaneously Reported Cases. Drug Safety 2018; 41: 859–869.
- Therapeutic Goods Administration (Australia): Medicines containing vitamin B6 (pyridoxine, pyridoxal or pyridoxamine), Safety update, updated 7 April 2026.
- Dalton K., Dalton M. J. T.: Characteristics of pyridoxine overdose neuropathy syndrome. Acta Neurologica Scandinavica 1987; 76(1): 8–11.
- Parry G. J., Bredesen D. E.: Sensory neuropathy with low-dose pyridoxine. Neurology 1985; 35(10): 1466–1468.
- Schaumburg H. et al.: Sensory neuropathy from pyridoxine abuse: a new megavitamin syndrome. New England Journal of Medicine 1983; 309: 445–448.
- Vrolijk M. F. et al.: The vitamin B6 paradox: Supplementation with high concentrations of pyridoxine leads to decreased vitamin B6 function. Toxicology in Vitro 2017; 44: 206–212.
- Verbraucherzentrale: “Brain vitamin” B6: Do you really need an extra supplement? (as of 12 August 2026).
- Bavarian State Office for Health and Food Safety (LGL): Vitamin B6, critical overdoses in sports products? (as of 6 June 2019).
- Brasky T. M., White E., Chen C. L.: Long-Term, Supplemental, One-Carbon Metabolism-Related Vitamin B Use in Relation to Lung Cancer Risk in the Vitamins and Lifestyle (VITAL) Cohort. Journal of Clinical Oncology 2017; 35(30): 3440–3448.
- Embryotox (Charité Berlin): Pyridoxine in pregnancy and breastfeeding.
- Matthews A., Haas D. M., O'Mathúna D. P., Dowswell T.: Interventions for nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2015; CD007575.
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- Stockler S. et al.: Pyridoxine dependent epilepsy and antiquitin deficiency. Molecular Genetics and Metabolism 2011; 104(1–2): 48–60.
- Yasuda H. et al.: Rapid recovery from polyneuropathy under vitamin B6 in two patients with POEMS syndrome. Hematology 2022; 27(1): 463–468.
- Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 (Food Information Regulation), Annex XIII: Reference intakes for daily consumption (vitamin B6 1.4 mg).
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service: FoodData Central, SR Legacy Release (2018), Vitamin B-6 per 100 g.
- USDA ARS Nutrient Data Laboratory: USDA Table of Nutrient Retention Factors, Release 6 (2007).
- Max Rubner-Institut: Bundeslebensmittelschlüssel (BLS) 4.0, version 2025.
- Rickman J. C., Barrett D. M., Bruhn C. M.: Nutritional comparison of fresh, frozen and canned fruits and vegetables. Part 1. Vitamins C and B and phenolic compounds. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 2007; 87: 930–944.
- Lebensmittelverband Deutschland: Dietary supplements with vitamin B6 (sensitivity to light and heat).
Has been writing for Saturo since 2019 about nutrition, nutrients and how to get a good supply in everyday life.
Hat diesen Artikel am 1. Oktober 2026 auf fachliche Richtigkeit geprüft. The content is no substitute for medical advice.
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