You can buy either form of B6 as a supplement, but pyridoxine HCl is more common and generally costs less than PLP. Besides feeling tired from ...HealthlineSubscribeNutritionEvidenceBased9HealthBenefitsofVitaminB6(Pyridoxine)WrittenbyLizzieStreit,MS,RDN,LDonOctober1,2018VitaminB6,alsoknownaspyridoxine,isawater-solublevitaminthatyourbodyneedsforseveralfunctions.It’ssignificanttoprotein,fatandcarbohydratemetabolismandthecreationofredbloodcellsandneurotransmitters(1).YourbodycannotproducevitaminB6,soyoumustobtainitfromfoodsorsupplements.MostpeoplegetenoughvitaminB6throughtheirdiet,butcertainpopulationsmaybeatriskfordeficiency.ConsumingadequateamountsofvitaminB6isimportantforoptimalhealthandmayevenpreventandtreatchronicdiseases(2).Hereare9healthbenefitsofvitaminB6,backedbyscience.ShareonPinterest1.MayImproveMoodandReduceSymptomsofDepressionVitaminB6playsanimportantroleinmoodregulation.Thisispartlybecausethisvitaminisnecessaryforcreatingneurotransmittersthatregulateemotions,includingserotonin,dopamineandgamma-aminobutyricacid(GABA)(3,4,5).VitaminB6mayalsoplayaroleindecreasinghighbloodlevelsoftheaminoacidhomocysteine,whichhavebeenlinkedtodepressionandotherpsychiatricissues(6,7).SeveralstudieshaveshownthatdepressivesymptomsareassociatedwithlowbloodlevelsandintakesofvitaminB6,especiallyinolderadultswhoareathighriskforBvitamindeficiency(8,9,10).Onestudyin250olderadultsfoundthatdeficientbloodlevelsofvitaminB6doubledthelikelihoodofdepression(9).However,usingvitaminB6topreventortreatdepressionhasnotbeenshowntobeeffective(11,12).Acontrolledtwo-yearstudyinapproximately300oldermenwhodidnothavedepressionatthestartfoundthatthosetakingasupplementwithB6,folate(B9)andB12werenotlesslikelytohavedepressivesymptomscomparedtotheplacebogroup(12).SummaryLowlevelsofvitaminB6inolderadultshavebeenlinkedtodepression,butresearchhasnotshownthatB6isaneffectivetreatmentformooddisorders.2.MayPromoteBrainHealthandReduceAlzheimer’sRiskVitaminB6mayplayaroleinimprovingbrainfunctionandpreventingAlzheimer’s