COVID-19 Supplements: Thai, Japanese And Chinese Study Finds That Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) Treats Cytokine Storms And Blood Clots Linked To Mortality

COVID-19 Supplements: A new collaborative study involving researchers from Hiroshima University-Japan, Mahidol University-Thailand, Prajadhipok Memorial Hospital-Thailand, Xiamen University-China and Bangkok Chanthaburi Hospital-Thailand has shown that vitamin B6 may help calm cytokine storms and unclog blood clots linked to COVID-19’s lethality.

The research was led by Professor Dr Norihisa Kato Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life, Hiroshima University-Japan.
 
Many individuals are unaware that a small basic compound like vitamin B6 in the banana or fish you had this morning may be key to your body’s robust response against COVID-19.
 
Coronaviruses and influenza are among the viruses that can cause lethal lung injuries and death from acute respiratory distress syndrome worldwide. Viral infections evoke a “cytokine storm,” leading to lung capillary endothelial cell inflammation, neutrophil infiltration, and increased oxidative stress.
 
Furthermore, cardiovascular and diabetic complications are emerging in COVID-19 patients. Currently, there is no registered treatment or vaccine for COVID-19, and an alternative solution to protect against COVID-19 is urgently needed.
 
Vitamin B6 is a water-soluble vitamin found in various foods such as fish, whole grains, and banana. There are six isoforms of B6 vitamers. Among these, pyridoxal 5′-phosphate (PLP) is the most active form that acts as a coenzyme in various enzymatic reactions.
 
There is growing evidence that vitamin B6 exerts a protective effect against chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and diabetes by suppressing inflammation, inflammasomes, oxidative stress, and carbonyl stress. Additionally, vitamin B6 deficiency is associated with lower immune function and higher susceptibility to viral infection. In view of these information, the study team postulated potential role of vitamin B6 in ameliorating the severity of COVID-19 and its complications.
 
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Frontiers In Nutrition. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2020.562051/full
 
Vitamin B6 or pyridoxine is one of the B vitamins, and thus an essential nutrient. Its active form, pyridoxal 5′-phosphate,(PLP) serves as a coenzyme in some 100 enzyme reactions in amino acid, glucose, and lipid metabolism.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27593095/
 
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB6-HealthProfessional/
 
https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/vitamins/vitamin-B6
 
Pyridoxal 5′-phosphate (PLP), the metabolically active form of vitamin B6, is involved in many aspects of macronutrient metabolism, neurotransmitter synthesis, histamine synthesis, hemoglobin synthesis and function, and gene expression. PLP generally s erves as a coenzyme (cofactor) for many reactions including decarboxylation, transamination, racemization, elimination, replacement, and beta-group interconversion.
 
PLP has been implicated in increasing or decreasing the expression of certain genes. Increased intracellular levels of the vitamin lead to a decrease in the transcription of glucocorticoids. Also, vitamin B6 deficiency leads to the increased gene expression of albumin mRNA. Also, PLP influences expression of glycoprotein IIb by interacting with various transcription factors. The result is inhibition of platelet aggregation.
 
Research has so far explored the benefits of COVID-19 Supplements such vitamins D and C and minerals like zinc and magnesium in fortifying immune response against COVID-19. But research on vitamin B6 has been mostly missing.
 
Food scientist Dr Thanutchaporn Kumrungsee hopes their study can be the first step in showing vitamin B6’s potential in lowering the odds of patients becoming seriously ill with the coronavirus. 
 
Dr Kumrungsee, an associate professor at Hiroshima University’s Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life told Thailand Medical News, “In addition to washing your hands, food and nutrition are among the first lines of defense against Covid-19 virus infection. Food is our first medicine and the kitchen is our first pharmacy.”
 
She further added, “Recently, many scientists have published papers regarding the role of diets and nutrients in the protection against COVID-19. However, very few scientists are paying attention to the important role of vitamin B6.”
 
The study team pointed out growing evidence showing that vitamin B6 exerts a protective effect against chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes by suppressing inflammation, inflammasomes, oxidative stress, and carbonyl stress. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128119075000324
 
The study team added, “Coronaviruses and influenza are among the viruses that can cause lethal lung injuries and death from acute respiratory distress syndrome worldwide. Viral infections evoke a ‘cytokine storm,’ leading to lung capillary endothelial cell inflammation, neutrophil infiltration, and increased oxidative stress.”
 
Dr Kumrungsee explained that thrombosis (blood clotting) and cytokine storm (hyper inflammation) might be closely linked to the graveness of COVID-19. Cytokine storms happen when the immune system dangerously goes into overdrive and starts attacking even the healthy cells. Meanwhile, blood clots linked to COVID-19 can block capillaries, damaging vital organs like the heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys.
 
Importantly Vitamin B6 is a known anti-thrombosis and anti-inflammation nutrient.
 
Furthermore Deficiency in this vitamin is also associated with lower immune function and higher susceptibility to viral infections. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27593095/
 
https://academic.oup.com/nutritionreviews/article-abstract/51/8/217/1829004
 
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23874335/
 
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22666543/
 
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17875673/
 
Dr Kumrungsee  added, “Vitamin B6 has a close relationship with the immune system. Its levels always drop in people under chronic inflammation such as obesity, diabetes, and heart diseases. We can see from the news that obese and diabetic people are at high risk for COVID-19.”
 
She said, “Thus, our attempt in this paper is to shed light on the possible involvement of vitamin B6 in decreasing the severity of COVID-19.”
 
Dr Kumrungsee said she is looking forward to clinical trials that would test their hypothesis.
 
She said, “It is of great interest to examine if vitamin B6 exerts protection against novel types of virus infection and pneumonia which will be encountered in the future. At present, there is few information regarding the protective role of nutrients against pneumonia and lung diseases. After COVID-19, we should develop the area of nutrition for lung diseases such as pneumonia and lung cancer.”
 
The study team concluded,” Here, we summarized the available evidence suggesting the potential role of vitamin B6 in suppressing the severity of COVID-19 possibly through ameliorating complications of chronic diseases such as hypertension, CVD, and diabetes. Clinical studies in COVID-19 patients are urgently needed to confirm these possibilities. In spite of the lungs being a primary target organ for SARS-CoV2 infection, information regarding the role of nutrition in lung health is very limited. Considering the emergence of new viruses, nutrition studies on the lungs, a primary target of airborne viral infections, should be performed. Severe vitamin B6 deficiency is relatively uncommon, but some individuals might have marginal vitamin B6 deficiency. Vitamin B6 can be easily available as a dietary supplement with low cost and health risk. Accumulating evidence suggests that vitamin B6 supplementation may be useful for COVID-19 patients with low vitamin B6 status.”
 
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