Pyridoxine is one of the B6 vitamins, similar in molecular structure and function to pyridoxamine. The vitamin is important to human health because it helps balance electrolytes in the body and functions as an important helper in the synthesis of red blood cells. Pregnant women sometimes find that supplementing their diets with pyridoxine and other forms of B6 helps relieve the nausea associated with early pregnancy. Five elements are included in pyridoxine hydrochloride, which is the salt preparation of pyridoxine normally found in vitamins.
Carbon
The "backbone," or overall shape and structure, of the pyridoxine hydrochloride molecule is made up of the element carbon, notes the "CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics." Carbon forms the backbone of all organic molecules, and while it doesn't contribute significantly to chemical reactivity, it does contribute to activity in the body, since many molecules in the body bind to receptors--and therefore have various effects--based upon their shapes. Pyridoxine contains eight carbon atoms.
Nitrogen and Oxygen
Together, nitrogen and oxygen form the reactive portions of the pyridoxine hydrochloride molecule. In fact, it's the nitrogen--of which there's only one atom--in the parent molecule pyridoxine that reacts with hydrochloric acid to produce the salt preparation found in most vitamins. Pyridoxine hydrochloride includes three oxygen atoms, two of which form alcohol groups on the molecule, and one of which contributes to pyridoxine's acidic properties, note Reginald Garrett and Charles Grisham in their book "Biochemistry."
Hydrogen
Few hydrogen atoms on molecules actually react chemically--most are bound to carbon atoms and are unreactive. On pyridoxine hydrochloride, the only two reactive hydrogens are those bound to an oxygen and to the molecule's single nitrogen atom. Both hydrogens contribute to the molecule's acidic properties, but neither makes it a particularly strong acid, note Garrett and Grisham.
Chlorine
The single chlorine ion, meaning charged atom, found in pyridoxine hydrochloride is not actually chemically bonded to the rest of the molecule. Instead, notes the "CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics," it's held in place by an electrostatic force--the chlorine atom is negatively charged, and it's attracted to a positively charged nitrogen atom on the molecule. The chlorine atom doesn't contribute to pyridoxine hydrochloride's activity in the body; instead, it's merely an artifact of salt preparation, and helps stabilize the molecule and increase its shelf life.
References
- "CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics"; David Lide; 1974
- "Biochemistry"; Reginald Garrett and Charles Grisham; 2007
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