Amino acids are biochemical compounds found in every cell, while vitamin B-6 is a vitamin found in a variety of natural sources. At first glance, they do not seem related; however, your body needs vitamin B-6 in order to use the amino acids as fuel from your food.
Amino Acids
According to Medline Plus, amino acids are organic structures that form proteins that your body uses in your cells. When you eat protein, it is digested into amino acids, which can be used in various processes, like metabolizing food and growing and repairing human tissue, muscles and organs. While your body can make some of the amino acids it needs, called nonessential amino acids, you need to get others, called essential amino acids, through food.
Vitamin B-6
According to the Linus Pauling Institute, vitamin B-6 is typically found in three forms: pyridoxal, pyridoxine and pyridoxamine. Pyridoxal is the most commonly used in your body to make enzymes for a variety of biological processes, including synthesizing serotonin, a chemical in your brain, and in forming heme, a part of the hemoglobin found in your red blood cells that's used to transport oxygen. You also need vitamin B-6 to convert another B vitamin, niacin, from the amino acid tryptophan.
B-6 and Amino Acids
Amino acids and B-6 actually work closely together in the metabolism of energy from protein-based foods, such as meat or eggs. When you first consume B-6, its common form, pyridoxal, becomes a coenzyme called pyridoxal 5'-phosphate. This coenzyme is necessary for the biochemical reactions that convert amino acids into glucose through a process called gluconeogenesis. The digestive system breaks down all food into glucose, the fuel that your cells use for energy.
Sources and RDI
An average adult needs 1.3 mg of vitamin B-6 daily, which can be found in a variety of sources, including fruits and vegetables including potatoes and bananas, poultry and fortified cereal. Adults get the essential amino acids they need through protein, and most people need between 50 and 65 grams daily. Good animal proteins include meat sources such as lean red meat, poultry and fish. Plant sources that contain all of the essential amino acids are limited but a few, such as soybeans and quinoa, contain the complete spectrum.
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