Currently, scientists are conducting researches whether or not Vitamin B6 can help against COVID-19. Of course, scientists already developed a vaccine. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean 100% protection against infection with covid. So, another approach is needed. Apparently, if a person has a strong immune system, even if he gets infected, he won’t experience severe complications. Today we will talk about vitamin B6 and its role in treating or preventing coronavirus.
Could vitamin B6 help against COVID-19?
Vitamin B6 is a water-soluble vitamin. You can find it in various foods like fish and bananas. It is very uncommon to suffer from severe vitamin B6 deficiency. Now there is accumulating evidence suggesting that vitamin B6 supplementation may be helpful for patients suffering from COVID-19 with low vitamin B6 status.
Researchers associate important events that have a link to infection with respiratory viruses with oxidative stress, inflammation, and subsequent lung injury. In a clinical trial, mice were on a vitamin B6-deficient diet. They found out that the animals were more susceptible to infection of murine pneumonia virus than the control mice group. This suggests that vitamin B6 may ameliorate the severity of COVID-19. The vitamin can exert its anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory actions in the lungs.
Vitamin B6 can down-regulate cytokine storm!
According to doctors, patients with severe COVID-19 infections often experience cytokine storm. This means a hyperactive immune response that releases signaling proteins called cytokines. They are an important part of the immune system. However, if there are too many of them in your bloodstream, that can cause severe acute inflammation. Furthermore, that can lead to tissue and organ damage. According to researchers, the B group vitamins down-regulate the cytokines that cause inflammation. This means that these vitamins could help prevent or even reverse cytokine storms.
Researchers from Hiroshima University recently published a paper that highlights growing evidence about how vitamin B6 exerts a protective effect against chronic illnesses. These include cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Vitamin b6 can suppress inflammation, inflammasomes, oxidative stress, and carbonyl stress.
Furthermore, according to the team of researchers, vitamin B6 could calm cytokine storms and unclog blood clots, linked to worse outcomes from COVID-19. You can find the study paper in the journal “Frontiers in Nutrition”. However, scientists need to conduct further research on the subject.
Other ways Vitamin B6 might help against COVID-19:
Along other things, Vitamin B6 can also regulate cellular calcium influx. This happens through both voltage-mediated and ATP-mediated purinergic mechanisms. This means that the vitamin has an important role in regulating hypertension and cardio dysfunction.
According to another research, Vitamin B6 supplementation can lower blood pressure in hypertensive patients. Additionally, oral administration of this vitamin attenuates platelet aggregation and clot formation. If they are taken together, researchers suggest that vitamin B6 could ameliorate the severity of COVID-19. This can occur because of the prevention of worsening CVD complications.
