Pyridoxamine is a vitamer in the vitamin B6 family, which includes pyridoxal and pyridoxine. Pyridoxamine is converted to the biologically active form of vitamin B6, pyridoxal 5-phosphate, via the vitamin B6 salvage pathway. Vitamin B6 acts as an enzyme cofactor in a variety of metabolic processes. In food, pyridoxamine is commonly found as a 5’-phosphate derivative, which is hydrolyzed by intestinal phosphatases to pyridoxamine and absorbed in the jejunum. Absorbed pyridoxamine is converted to pyridoxamine 5’-phosphate by pyridoxal kinase, which is further converted to the active pyridoxal 5-phosphate by pyridoxamine-phosphate transaminase or pyridoxine 5’-phosphate oxidase. Pyridoxamine is based on a pyridine ring structure, with hydroxyl, methyl, aminomethyl, and hydroxymethyl substituents. It differs from pyridoxine by the substituent at the 4-position.
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