Not only vitamin D, B6 (pyridoxine) could also prevent the most severe forms of Covid-19

Vitamin B6 has a close relationship with the immune system and its role in decreasing the severity of COVID-19 needs to be understood.

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During this pandemic year, the role of Vitamin D in combating Covid-19 has often been talked about but there could also be another particularly valuable vitamin to prevent the most serious forms of this disease. This is B6 or pyridoxine.

A B vitamin could help keep the famous at bay cytokine storm (that inflammatory situation that generates the most serious forms of Covid-19), and unblock blood clots often linked to deaths. She is convinced of it Thanutchaporn Kumrungsee, a food scientist at Hiroshima University, who together with his team published an article in Frontiers in Nutrition dedicated to the potential of B6 (pyridoxine) against Covid-19, inviting other scientists to investigate the matter.

To date, many studies have explored the benefits of vitamins D and C and minerals such as zinc and magnesium in boosting the immune response against the coronavirus. But research on vitamin B6 is lacking.

Read also: "Vitamin D is effective against Covid and should be used as a prevention and therapy". Interview with Professor Giovanni Carlo Isaia

A first step that shows the potential of vitamin B6 to lower the chances of patients becoming seriously ill from Covid-19, this is exactly what Professor Kumrungsee and her team have undertaken.

“In addition to washing hands, food and nutrition are among the first lines of defense against Covid-19 virus infection. Food is our first medicine and cooking is our first pharmacy. Recently, many scientists have published articles on the role of diets and nutrients in protecting against COVID-19. However, very few scientists are paying attention to the important role of vitamin B6 "

In its paper, the research team highlighted growing evidence showing that vitamin B6 exerts a protective effect against chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes by suppressing inflammation, oxidative stress and other processes that aggravate health conditions.

Coronaviruses and influenza are among the viruses that can cause fatal lung injury and death from acute respiratory distress syndrome worldwide. Viral infections evoke a "cytokine storm", which leads to inflammation of the endothelial cells of the lung capillaries, infiltration of neutrophils and increased oxidative stress, "underline the researchers.

Kumrungsee explained that thrombosis (blood clotting) and cytokine storm (hyperinflammation) could be closely linked to the severity of Covid-19. A situation that occurs when the immune system begins to attack healthy cells as well. Meanwhile, blood clots linked to Covid-19 can block capillaries, damaging vital organs such as the heart, lungs, liver and kidneys.

Not only vitamin D, B6 (pyridoxine) could also prevent the most severe forms of Covid-19

@Frontiers in Nutrition

Considering that Vitamin B6 is an anti-thrombosis and anti-inflammatory nutrient and that a deficiency of this vitamin is associated with lower immune function and greater susceptibility to viral infections, it goes without saying how it could also be useful in the fight against Covid-19.

"Vitamin B6 has a close relationship with the immune system. Its levels always drop in people with chronic inflammation such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. We can see from the news that obese and diabetic people are at high risk for COVID-19. So, our attempt in this article is to shed some light on possible involvement of vitamin B6 in decreasing the severity of COVID-19”Explained the authors.

The professor now intends to carry out clinical trials to test her hypothesis.

Fonte: Frontiers in Nutrition