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B67.0
Vitamin B6 Research
Too few graded studies
166 peer-reviewed studies
What the evidence says
Too few graded studies
Vitamin B6 doesn't have enough studies with structured effect-size data yet to pool a verdict. Browse the studies below for individual findings.
Most evidence is from high-quality meta-analyses and randomised trials published 1976–2026 with a typical study size of 1,278 participants.
Based on 166 studies · 28 meta-analyses · 97 RCTs · 1,193,397 total participants
Confidence
High confidence
What the studies found
1helped1didn't help· 164 more without graded effect data
By outcome
Women's healthMay help manage menopausal symptoms like hot flashes and mood changes · 4-8 weeks · Low-quality trials suggest up to 100 mg a day eases premenstrual symptoms. Estrogen metabolism was not measured · 4-8 weeks · May help reduce menstrual discomfort and PMS symptoms · 1-3 cycles · Eases pregnancy nausea, alone or combined with other treatments, in a systematic review of 18 studies. Overall evidence quality is low · Ongoing
Immune supportNeeded for lymphocyte production. No cited trial shows supplements improve immune outcomes outside deficiency · 4-8 weeks
Too few graded studies1 study
Inflammation
Too few graded studies1 study
Skin health
Too few graded studies1 study
By the numbers
Pulled from 41 studies with measurable effects
Likely real effects
67%
across studies
People studied
1193k
typical study: 1278 people
Strongest designs
125
28 pooled, 97 randomised
Showed benefit
50%
1/2 studies
How long studies ran
1–4 weeks
2
1–3 months
3
3+ months
1
Populations Studied
Pregnant women with nausea and vomiting3
General population3
Cancer patients2
Patients with antipsychotic-induced akathisia2
Active research area
60 studies in the last 5 years · Latest meta-analysis: 2026
197620012026
1Meta-Analysis2026
In plain English: Conclusions: This study indicates that both pharmacological (vitamin B6, metoclopramide, dimenhydrinate) and non-pharmacological (ginger, quince, acupressure, acupuncture) interventions might be effective in reducing symptoms of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy.
Frivaldszky L et al. · Nutrients (2026)
Background: Nausea and vomiting in pregnancy affects up to 80% of pregnant women and may progress to hyperemesis gravidarum, leading to maternal morbidity and adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Risk of bias was low to moderate.
Discussion: Most interventions demonstrated significant benefit over a placebo.
3Cardiovascular calcification progressionSystematic ReviewCited 10×n=9,901 · very large study2023
In plain English: Singleton studies involving salsalate, folate with vitamin B6 and 12, and dalcetrapib showed no attenuation of cardiovascular calcification.
Murali S et al. · Journal of the American Heart Association (2023)
Systematic review of 49 randomised trials with 9,901 people testing ways to slow cardiovascular calcification.
The single trial of folate with vitamins B6 and B12 showed no slowing of calcification.
Aged garlic extract was the only intervention that consistently slowed it, in small, short trials.
4Safety and efficacy in cancer treatmentSystematic ReviewCited 11×2024
In plain English: In this systematic review we concluded that B vitamin supplements have varying data regarding safety and efficacy in cancer.
Van de Roovaart HJ et al. · Journal of oncology pharmacy practice : official publication of the International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practitioners (2024)
Out of 694 articles initially identified, 25 articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review, among them trials, case studies and cohort studies.
Some studies linked B6 to lower cancer risk (nasopharyngeal carcinoma with B9, pancreatic cancer, breast cancer), while others linked it to worse outcomes: B6 during nasopharyngeal carcinoma treatment (n = 592) and B6 in risk of hepatocellular carcinoma.
Vitamin B6 with acupuncture reduced chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in one small study (n = 23).
5Stroke risk reductionMeta-AnalysisCited 15×n=76,664 · very large study2024
In plain English: Our meta-analysis found that the folic acid combined with vitamin B12 and vitamin B6 supplementation strategy significantly reduced the risk of stroke in areas without and with partial folic acid fortification.
Zhang N et al. · The American journal of clinical nutrition (2024)
Large benefitCombination product. Contains: folic acid, vitamin B12, vitamin B6
← WorseNo effectBetter →
In areas without and with partial folic acid fortification, combined B-vitamin supplementation significantly reduced the risk of stroke by 34% [RR: 0.66; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.50, 0.86] and 11% (RR: 0.89; 95% CI: 0.79, 1.00), respectively.
Further analysis showed that a dosage of folic acid ≤0.8 mg/d and vitamin B12 ≤0.4 mg/d was best for stroke prevention (RR: 0.65; 95% CI: 0.48, 0.86) in these areas.
In contrast, no benefit of combined supplementation was found in fortified areas (RR: 1.04; 95% CI: 0.94, 1.16).
6Nausea and vomiting in pregnancy treatmentMeta-AnalysisCited 21×n=1,174 · large study2022
In plain English: Ginger supplementation significantly relieve general NVP symptom and nausea compared with placebo, but no significant effect on vomiting.
Hu Y et al. · The journal of maternal-fetal & neonatal medicine : the official journal of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine, the Federation of Asia and Oceania Perinatal Societies, the International Society of Perinatal Obstetricians (2022)
Thirteen studies involving 1174 subjects were included.
Ginger supplementation significantly relieve general NVP symptom and nausea compared with placebo, but no significant effect on vomiting.
Compared with vitamin B6, ginger had no significant effect on general symptoms (OR 1.239, 95% CI 0.495 to 3.102), nausea severity or vomiting, so the two did not differ.
7Antipsychotic-induced hyperprolactinemia treatmentMeta-AnalysisCited 46×n=1,999 · large study2022
In plain English: No effective strategy was found for patients with AP-induced HPRL less than 50 ng/ml, while adjunctive ARI, switching to ARI in titration and adjunctive high-dose vitamin B6 showed better PRL decrease effect on AP-induced HPRL more than 50 ng/ml.
Lu Z et al. · Translational psychiatry (2022)
Antipsychotic-induced hyperprolactinemia (AP-induced HPRL) occurs overall in up to 70% of patients with schizophrenia, which is associated with hypogonadism and sexual dysfunction.
Pharmacological treatment strategies for AP-induced HPRL depends on initial PRL level.
No effective strategy was found for patients with AP-induced HPRL less than 50 ng/ml, while adjunctive ARI, switching to ARI in titration and adjunctive high-dose vitamin B6 showed better PRL decrease effect on AP-induced HPRL more than 50 ng/ml.
8Antipsychotic-induced akathisia treatment efficacyMeta-AnalysisCited 17×n=492 · medium study2024
In plain English: In this systematic review and network meta-analysis, mirtazapine, biperiden, and vitamin B6 were associated with the greatest efficacy for AIA, with vitamin B6 having the best efficacy and tolerance profile.
Gerolymos C et al. · JAMA network open (2024)
No association between effect sizes and psychotic severity was found.
In this systematic review and network meta-analysis, mirtazapine, biperiden, and vitamin B6 were associated with the greatest efficacy for AIA, with vitamin B6 having the best efficacy and tolerance profile.
Trazodone, mianserin, and propranolol appeared as effective alternatives with slightly less favorable efficacy and tolerance profiles.
9Global cognitive functionMeta-AnalysisCited 126×n=83,000 · very large study2018
In plain English: We did not find evidence that any vitamin or mineral supplementation strategy for cognitively healthy adults in mid or late life has a meaningful effect on cognitive decline or dementia, although the evidence does not permit definitive conclusions.
Rutjes AW et al. · The Cochrane database of systematic reviews (2018)
28 trials with more than 83,000 participants. 14 trials with 27,882 participants compared folic acid, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, or a combination of these to placebo.
We found that giving B vitamin supplements to cognitively healthy adults, mainly in their 60s and 70s, probably has little or no effect on global cognitive function at any time point up to 5 years (SMD values from -0.03 to 0.06) and may also have no effect at 5-10 years (SMD -0.01).
There were very sparse data on adverse effects or on incidence of cognitive impairment or dementia.
10Stress levelsMeta-AnalysisCited 72×n=2,015 · very large study2019
In plain English: The review provides evidence for the benefit of B vitamin supplementation in healthy and at-risk populations for stress, but not for depressive symptoms or anxiety.
Young LM et al. · Nutrients (2019)
Eighteen articles (16 trials, 2015 participants) of daily supplements with at least three B vitamins were included, so the result is not for B6 alone.
B vitamin supplementation benefited stress (n = 958, SMD = 0.23, 95% CI = 0.02, 0.45, p = 0.03).
A benefit to depressive symptoms did not reach significance (n = 568, SMD = 0.15, 95% CI = -0.01, 0.32, p = 0.07), and there was no effect on anxiety (n = 562, SMD = 0.03, 95% CI = -0.13, 0.20, p = 0.71).
11Nausea and vomiting in pregnancySystematic ReviewCited 112×n=8,930 · very large study2016
In plain English: For mild symptoms of nausea and emesis of pregnancy, ginger, pyridoxine, antihistamines, and metoclopramide were associated with greater benefit than placebo.
McParlin C et al. · JAMA (2016)
For mild symptoms of nausea and emesis of pregnancy, ginger, pyridoxine, antihistamines, and metoclopramide were associated with greater benefit than placebo.
Ondansetron was associated with improvement for a range of symptom severity.
Corticosteroids may be associated with benefit in severe cases.