A low vitamin B6 level has negative effects on brain performance. A research team from Würzburg University Medicine has now found a way to delay the degradation of the vitamin.

Vitamin B6 is important for brain metabolism. Accordingly, in various mental illnesses, a low vitamin B6 level is associated with impaired memory and learning abilities, with a depressive mood, and even with genuine depression. In older people, too little vitamin B6 is linked to memory loss and dementia.

Although some of these observations were made decades ago, the exact role of vitamin B6 in mental illness is still largely unclear. What is clear, however, is that an increased intake of vitamin B6 alone, for example in the form of dietary supplements, is insufficient to prevent or treat disorders of brain function.

With success: “In our experiments, we identified a natural substance that can inhibit pyridoxal phosphatase and thus slow down the degradation of vitamin B6,” explains the pharmacologist. The working group was actually able to increase vitamin B6 levels in nerve cells that are involved in learning and memory processes. The name of this natural substance: 7,8-Dihydroxyflavone.