Acute ingestion of glucose decreases plasma pyridoxal 5'-phosphate and total vitamin B-6 concentration

The effect of the acute ingestion of glucose on the concentration of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) and total vitamin B-6 (TB6) in plasma was studied. Five males and four females were given 1 g D-glucose/kg body wt. A blood sample was collected at 0-10 min and 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 h and the plasma was analyzed for PLP and TB6. There was a significant decrease in both plasma PLP and TB6 (p less than 0.05) at 2 h. All nine subjects exhibited a decrease, and by 5 h the mean change from fasting was 8-10 nmol/L for PLP and 8-12 nmol/L for TB6 (an 18-21% decrease from that when fasting). Ingestion of 300 mL water in four subjects resulted in a mean decrease of 3.4 nmol PLP/L plasma and indicated that some but not all of the decrease may have been due to fluid ingestion per se. Ingestion of glucose is associated with a decrease in both circulating plasma PLP and TB6; therefore, carbohydrate ingestion should be considered when plasma PLP and TB6 concentrations are used to evaluate vitamin B-6 status. In addition, fasting blood samples should be used when evaluating vitamin B-6 status.