Lee Swanson Research Update

B-6 May Improve Arthritis Measures

July 2010

A daily dose of vitamin B-6 at the current upper tolerable levels may reduce amounts of inflammatory compounds in people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, a new study says.

Levels of the pro-inflammatory compounds interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) significantly decreased following 12 weeks of supplementation with 100 mg of vitamin B-6, according to findings published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

However, scientists from Chung Shan Medical University in Taiwan said that no changes were observed for pyridoxal-5-phosphate (PLP), the active form of vitamin B-6, in relation to levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), another marker of inflammation.

The Taiwanese scientists performed a single-blind co-intervention study with 35 participants randomly assigned to receive either 5 mg per day of only folic acid or 5 mg per day of folic acid, plus 100 mg of vitamin B-6.

After 12 weeks of supplementation, significant decreases were observed in levels of IL-6 and TNF-alpha only in participants of the B-6 group, the researchers said.

“A large dose of vitamin B-6 supplementation (100 mg per day) suppressed pro-inflammatory cytokines (that is, IL-6 and TNF-alpha) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis,” the researchers concluded.

Vitamin B-6, a water-soluble vitamin that exists as pyridoxine, pyridoxal and pyridoxamine is found in beans, meat, fish and some fruits and vegetables, like spinach and avocado. The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) is 1.3 mg for men and women aged between 19 and 50.

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition Published online ahead of print.

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