Vitamin B6 status of breast-fed infants in relation to pyridoxine HCl supplementation of mothers

The vitamin B6 nutritue of breast-fed infants was evaluated by vitamin B6 intake, plasma pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) concentration, and growth patterns during the infants' first 6 mo of age. Vitamin B6 intakes of 47 healthy, term infants were significantly correlated with four levels of maternal vitamin B6 supplements: 2.5, 4.0, 7.5, or 10.0 mg pyridoxine (PN) HCl/d and met the B6 Adequate Intake (AI, 1998) of 0.1 mg/d for infants 0 to 6 mo. Only infants whose mothers received 10.0 mg PN x HCl/d exceeded or met the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA, 1989) of 0.3 mg vitamin B6/d from 4 to 6 mo of age. Plasma PLP concentrations of infants, measured at 1, 4, and 6 mo of age paralleled their mother's vitamin B6 intake. Most infants showed normal growth. The findings indicated that a maternal PN x HCl supplement of 2.5 mg/d provided an adequate amount of vitamin B6 in breast milk (0.15 mg/d) for the vitamin B6 status parameters and the growth of breast-fed infants.