Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Safety
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not strictly regulate herbs and supplements. There is no guarantee of strength, purity or safety of products, and effects may vary. You should always read product labels. If you have a medical condition, or are taking other drugs, herbs, or supplements, you should speak with a qualified healthcare provider before starting a new therapy. Consult a healthcare provider immediately if you experience side effects.
Allergies
Patients should avoid vitamin B6 products if they are sensitive or allergic to any of their ingredients.
Side Effects and Warnings
Some individuals seem to be particularly sensitive to vitamin B6 and may have problems at lower doses. Overall, pyridoxine is generally considered safe in adults and children when used appropriately at recommended doses. Avoid excessive dosing.
Acne, skin reactions, allergic reactions, and photosensitivity have been reported.
Nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, and increased liver function test results (serum aspartate transaminase (AST, SGOT)) have been reported.
Headache, paresthesia, somnolence, and sensory neuropathy have been reported.
Breast soreness or enlargement, decreased serum folic acid levels, seizures after large doses, hypotonia, and respiratory distress in infants have also been reported.
Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
Vitamin B6 is likely safe when used orally in doses not exceeding the recommended dietary allowance (RDA). Vitamin B6 is possibly safe when used orally and appropriately in amounts exceeding the recommended dietary allowance. A special sustained-release multi-ingredient product is U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved for use in pregnancy. However, it should not be used long-term or without medical supervision and close monitoring or in more excessive doses. There is some concern that high-dose maternal pyridoxine can cause neonatal seizures.
Vitamin B6 is likely safe when used orally in doses not exceeding the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA). There is insufficient reliable information about the safety of pyridoxine when used in higher doses in lactating women. Because most breastfeeding women do not consume the RDA of vitamin B6 in their normal diets and do not provide totally breastfed infants with the RDA of this vitamin, higher doses of vitamin B6 may be recommended although benefits have not been well proven.
NS_patient-b6
Portions of this document last updated:Sept. 1, 2009
THE NATURAL STANDARD RESEARCH COLLABORATION
(www.naturalstandard.com)
