Vitamin B6

Common Name: Vitamin B6
Chemical name: 6-methyl-5-hydroxy-3,4-pyridine-bis(methanol)-hydrochloride
Molecular formula: C8H11NO3·HCl
Molecular weight: 205.64

Vitamin-type drugs are indispensable nutritious components in human body. Its main function is to take part in the metabolism of lipid and amino acid. Clinically it is commonly used in seborrheic dermatitis, seborrheic baldness, sideroblastic anemia, congestive heart failure, chronic infection and fever, isoniazid toxicosis, nausea and vomiting of pregnant women. With the stable elevation of material life level and the requirements for life quality of humankind, vitamin B6 has been widely applied to medicine, health-care product, food, cosmetic and feed.

Vitamin B6 is a water-soluble vitamin that exists in three major chemical forms: pyridoxine, pyridoxal, and pyridoxamine. It performs a wide variety of functions in your body and is essential for your good health. For example, vitamin B6 is needed for more than 100

enzymes involved in protein metabolism. It is also essential for red blood cell metabolism. The nervous and immune systems need vitamin B6 to function efficiently, and it is also needed for the conversion of tryptophan (an amino acid) to niacin (a vitamin).

Vitamin B6 is white or white-like crystal or crystal powder, which is inodorous, and tastes sour and bitter; it gradually deteriorates when exposed the sunlight.
This product is readily soluble in water and slightly soluble in ethanol, and non-soluble in chloroform and aether.

Smelting Point: The smelting point of this product is 205-209°C,and it decomposes when smelting.

Identification:
(1)Take about 10mg of this product and add 100 ml of water to solve it. Put 1 ml of the solution into the test tube A and B with 2 ml 20% sodium acetate solution respectively, and put 1 ml water and 4% boric acid solution into test tubes A and test tube B respectively; evenly mix the solution and quickly add 1 ml chloro-imido-2,6-dichloro-chinone. The test tube A will appear blue and become red after a few minutes, and the blue color will not appear in test tube B.

(2)Add this product into hydrochloric acid solution (9-1000) to make 10μg/ml solution and assay it with spectrophotometer. There will be maximal absorption at the 291 nm wavelength with the absorptivity of about 0.43.

(3)The absorbing atlas of infrared ray of this product conforms to the controlling atlas.

(4)he identifying reaction for chloride in the water solution of this product.
Test Clarity of the solution: After solving 1.0 g of this product in 10 ml water, the solution should be clarified; if appearing turbid, compare it with No.1 turbidity standard solution and it should be thinner.
Acidity: Solve 1.0g of this product in 10 ml water and assay it. pH should be 2.4-3.0.
Weight Loss of Desiccation: Desiccate this product at 105 to constant weight. The weight loss should not be over 0.2% and the burned residue not over 0.1%.
Heavy Metal: Add 2.0 g of this product in 20ml water and after added with ammoniac solution it should appear neutral reaction in litmus paper test.
Content Assay Precisely measure: this product with the error permission of 0.15 g and add 20ml ice acetic acid and 5 ml mercury acetate. Mildly melt it and cool it. Add 1 drop crystal purple indication liquid and titrate the solution with the titrating solution of perchloric acid until bluish green and correct the titrating result with blank test. One ml titrating solution of perchloric acid equal to 20.56mg C8H11NO3·HCl.
Storage: Hermetically sealed and stored in dark place.

Preparation: (1)Vitamin B6 tablet, (2)Vitamin B6 Injection

What is meant by a good food source?
A good food source of vitamin B-6 contains a substantial amount of vitamin B-6 in relation to its calorie content and contributes at least 10 percent of the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance (U.S. RDA) for vitamin B-6 in a selected serving size. The U.S. RDA for vitamin B-6 is 2 milligrams per day. (The U.S. RDA given is for adults, except pregnant or lactating women, and children over 4 years of age.
The U.S. RDA for vitamin B-6 is the amount of the vitamin used as a standard in nutrition labeling of foods. This allowance is based on the 1968 Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) for 24 sex-age categories set by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences. The 1989 RDA has been set at 1.6 milligrams per day for women 19 to 50 years of age and 2 milligrams for men 19 to 50 years of age.

INSERT GRAPH - "Where do women get vitamin B-6"
As you can see, in 1985 and 1986, 32 percent of the vitamin B-6 in the diets of women came from meat, poultry, and fish; 29 percent from fruits and vegetables; and 23 percent from grain products. Foods that contain small amounts of vitamin B-6 but are not considered good sources can contribute significant amounts of vitamin B-6 to an individual's diet if these foods are eaten often or in large amounts.

Why do we need Vitamin B-6?
Vitamin B-6, a water-soluble vitamin, helps use protein to build body tissue and aids in the metabolism of fat. The need for vitamin B-6 is directly related to protein intake. As the intake of protein increases, the need for vitamin B-6 increases.

Do we get enough Vitamin B-6?
According to recent USDA surveys, the average intake of vitamin B-6 by Americans was below the RDA. The average intake for women 19 to 50 years of age was about 70 percent of the recommended amount. Men tended to have higher intakes than women of the same age, averaging above 90 percent of the recommendations for men.

How can we get enough vitamin B-6?
Eating a variety of foods that contain vitamin B-6 is the best way to get an adequate amount. Healthy individuals who eat a balanced diet rarely need supplements. Intakes of vitamin B-6 tend to be low in relation to recommendations, and there aren't that many foods that are really good sources; thus, it may take special care to ensure an adequate intake. The list of foods will help you select those that are good sources of vitamin B-6 as you follow the Dietary Guidelines. The list of good sources was derived from the same nutritive value of foods tables used to analyze information from recent food consumption surveys of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Human Nutrition Information Service.

How to prepare foods to retain Vitamin B-6
Vitamin B-6 can be lost in preparation, cooking, or storage. Cooking losses occur when some vitamin B-6 is dissolved in the cooking liquid. To retain vitamin B-6: .Serve fruits raw. .Cook foods in a minimal amount of water. .Cook for the shortest possible time. .Roast or broil meat and poultry.

What about fortified foods?
Most ready-to-eat and instant-prepared cereals are fortified with vitamin B-6. Fortified ready-to-eat cereals usually contain at least 25 percent of the U.S. RDA for vitamin B-6. Since cereals vary, check the label on the package for the percentage of the U.S. RDA for a specific cereal.

What is a serving?
The serving sizes used on the list of good sources are only estimates of the amounts of food you might eat. The amount of nutrient in a serving depends on the weight of the serving. For example, 1/2 cup of a cooked vegetable contains more vitamin B-6 than 1/2 cup of the same vegetable served raw, because a serving of the cooked vegetable weighs more. Therefore, the cooked vegetable may appear on the list while the raw form does not. The raw vegetable provides the nutrient - but just not enough in a 1/2-cup serving to be considered a good source.

What are good source of vitamin B-6?
FOOD SELECTED PERCENTAGE OF SERVING SIZE U.S. RDA (1)

BREADS, CEREALS, AND OTHER GRAIN PRODUCTS(2)
Oatmeal, instant, fortified, prepared 2/3 cup ++ Ready-to-eat cereals, fortified 1 ounce ++

FRUITS
Banana, raw 1 medium ++ Prunes, dried, cooked, unsweetened 1/2 cup + Prune juice, unsweetened 1/2 cup + Watermelon, raw About 1 3/4 cups diced +

VEGETABLES
Plantain, green or ripe, boiled 1 medium ++ Potato, baked or boiled, with skin 1 medium + Spinach, cooked 1/2 cup + Sweetpotato, baked or boiled 1 medium + Tomato juice, tomato-juice cocktail, or tomato-vegetable juice cocktail; canned 3/4 cup +

MEAT, POULTRY, FISH, AND ALTERNATES
Meat and Poultry Beef: Brisket, braised, lean only 3 ounces + Ground; extra-lean, lean, or regular; baked or broiled 1 patty + Pot roast, braised, lean only 3 ounces + Roast, rib, roasted, lean only 3 ounces + Shortribs, braised, lean only 3 ounces + Steak; baked, broiled, or braised; lean only 3 ounces + Stew meat, simmered, lean only 3 ounces + Chicken, without skin: Breast: Broiled 1/2 breast + Roasted 1/2 breast ++ Leg (thigh and drumstick), broiled or roasted 1 leg + Cornish hen, roasted, without skin 1/2 hen ++ Ham, fresh, roasted, lean only 3 ounces + Liver, braised: Beef 3 ounces ++ Calf or Pork 3 ounces + Chicken 1/2 cup + Pork, lean only: Chop, baked or broiled 1 chop + Roast, loin, roasted 3 ounces + Turkey, light or dark meat, roasted, without skin 3 ounces + Veal, chop, braised, lean only 1 chop +

Fish and Seafood Cod, croaker, haddock, mackerel ocean perch, porgy, or sea bass; baked or broiled 3 ounces + Mackerel, canned, drained 3 ounces + Mullet or trout, baked or broiled 3 ounces + Salmon, canned, drained 3 ounces + Swordfish steak, baked or broiled 3 ounces +
(1) A selected serving size contains - + 10-24 percent of the U.S. RDA for adults and children over 4 years of age. ++ 25-39 percent of the U.S. RDA for adults and children over 4 years of age. +++ 40 percent or more of the U.S. RDA for adults and children over 4 years of age.

How much Vitamin B6 is requiried:
Males 2 mg per day and females 2 mg per day

Specification:
Melting point: 205.0-209.0°C
Acidity PH: 2.4-3.0
Loss on drying: Max. 0.2%
Residue on ignition: Max. 0.1%
Sulfate ash: Max. 0.1%
Heavy metals: Max. 10PPM
Assay (C8H11NO3·HCL) Calculated on the dried basis: 99.0%-101.0%
Clarity and color of solution: Conform
Chloride content: 16.9%-17.6%
Related substances: Conform
Organic volatile impurities: Conforms