Vitamin B6: deficiency diseases and methods of analysis.

Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) is closely associated with the functions of the nervous, immune and endocrine systems. It also participates in the metabolic processes of proteins, lipids and carbohydrates. Pyridoxine deficiency may result in neurological disorders including convulsions and epileptic encephalopathy and may lead to infant abnormalities. The Intravenous administration of pyridoxine to patients results in a dramatic cessation of seizures. A number of analytical methods were developed for the determination of pyridoxine in different dosage forms, food materials and biological fluids. These include UV spectrometric, spectrofluorimetric, mass spectrometric, thin-layer and high-performance liquid chromatographic, electrophoretic, electrochemical and enzymatic methods. Most of these methods are capable of determining pyridoxine in the presence of other vitamins and complex systems in µg quantities. The development and applications of these methods in pharmaceutical and clinical analysis mostly during the last decade have been reviewed.