Pyridoxal phoshphate

Pyridoxal  phosphate  is  derived  from  pyridoxine  (vitamin  B6)  and  is involved in amino acid metabolism.  The  other  two  compounds,  pyridoxal  and pyridoxamine, about which you learnt  in the last unit, having the properties of vitamin B6  also occur as phosphate derivatives. Enzymes  that  are dependent  on B6  phosphate coenzymes catalyze a variety of reactions such as transamination (transfer of amino group from an  amino  acid  to  a  keto  acid),  decarboxylation (removal  of  carboxyl group)  and racemization  (transformation  of one  isomer to another.