Vitamin B6, or pyridoxine, may ease the tension and other emotional symptoms of premenstrual syndrome, or PMS, according to the Office of Dietary Supplements, or ODS. Because pyridoxine plays a role in your body's production of hormones that affect your mood, you may notice an improvement in premenstrual tension if you have an adequate intake of this B vitamin in dietary or supplement form. However, the ODS states that clinical research doesn't support the use of pyridoxine as an effective treatment for PMS. Consult your health-care provider before using pyridoxine supplements to treat PMS symptoms.
Significance
PMS can cause mood disturbances as well as physical discomfort in women who have the disorder. Depression, irritability, weepiness and tension may accompany cramps, headache, nausea, and joint and muscle pain. Pyridoxine promotes the production of serotonin and norepinephrine, hormones that stabilize mood, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center, or UMMC. A lack of serotonin may contribute to premenstrual dysphoric disorder, or PMDD, a severe and disabling form of PMS characterized by depression, tension, anxiety and irritability, WomensHealth.gov notes. According to the UMMC, some women have reported relief from premenstrual mood changes after taking supplemental pyridoxine, but the vitamin's effectiveness as a remedy for premenstrual tension may vary from one woman to another.
Clinical Research
In a review of clinical trials of pyridoxine published in the May 22, 1999 issue of the "British Medical Journal," reproductive endocrinologist Katrina M. Wyatt reports that most of these early studies were of insufficient quality to make conclusions about the effectiveness of vitamin B6 at treating premenstrual mood changes. Wyatt states that vitamin B6 is likely effective at relieving premenstrual symptoms at doses of 50 to 100 mg per day. In a Jul. 2008 issue of the "Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience," Teri Pearlstein and Meir Steiner update these findings by noting that a dose of 80 mg of pyridoxine per day may be effective at reducing the emotional symptoms of PMDD.
Dietary Requirements
The recommended dietary allowance, or RDA, for pyridoxine is 1.2 mg per day for girls ages 14 through 18 and 1.3 mg for women ages 19 and older. The ODS recommends that you meet the RDA through dietary sources of pyridoxine, such as ready-to-eat enriched cereals, potatoes, legumes, avocados, chicken, turkey, fish, brown rice and sunflower seeds. The UMMC advises that you should not take more than 100 mg of vitamin B6 in supplement form daily without medical supervision.
Precautions
Toxic reactions from oral doses of most of the B vitamins are rare, according to the UMMC. However, high doses of pyridoxine -- 200 mg per day or greater -- may cause tingling and numbness in your extremities and neurological changes, the UMMC cautions. If you have tension, depression or irritability associated with PMS, consult your health-care provider about pyridoxine or other treatments for your mood-related symptoms.
References
- National Institutes of Health: Office of Dietary Supplements: Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Vitamin B6
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)
- WomensHealth.gov: Premenstrual Syndrome: Frequently Asked Questions
- "British Medical Journal"; Efficacy of Vitamin B-6 in the Treatment of Premenstrual Syndrome: Systematic Review; Katrina M. Wyatt, et al.; May 22, 1999
- "Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience"; Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder: Burden of Illness and Treatment Update; Teri Pearlstein and Meir Steiner; Jul. 2008
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