---
title: Do micronutrient supplements work better than vitamin B6 for PMS?
description: Both micronutrient supplements and vitamin B6 reduced PMS symptoms equally well. For very severe PMS (PMDD), micronutrients may work better than B6.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/a-pilot-randomized-treatment-controlled-trial-comparing-vitamin-b6-with-broad-2020/
---

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- Do micronutrient supplements work better than vitamin B6 for PMS?

Randomised trial, 2020

# Do micronutrient supplements work better than vitamin B6 for PMS?

Both micronutrient supplements and vitamin B6 reduced PMS symptoms equally well. For very severe PMS (PMDD), micronutrients may work better than B6.

 Moderate study design

72 women with PMS (28 of whom had PMDD)

## What they did

Randomized double-blind trial. 72 women with PMS took either a broad-spectrum micronutrient formula or 80 mg/day of vitamin B6 daily for 3 menstrual cycles after a 2-cycle baseline.

## What they found

Both treatments reduced PMS symptoms with medium effect sizes. After 3 cycles, 72% of the micronutrient group and 60% of the B6 group had no PMS symptoms. For the 28 women with severe PMS (PMDD), micronutrients had larger effect sizes than B6.

## What it means for you

Both supplements work, so either could be reasonable. If your PMS is severe (PMDD), micronutrients might help more. This was a relatively small study, so larger studies are needed.

80 mg/day

Vitamin B6 dose

3 cycles

Treatment duration

72%

Remission (micronutrients)

## About the study

Original title A Pilot Randomized Treatment-Controlled Trial Comparing Vitamin B6 with Broad-Spectrum Micronutrients for Premenstrual Syndrome Authors Retallick-Brown H, Blampied N, Rucklidge JJ Journal Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) Year 2020 Study design Randomised trial Participants 28 What was tested Broad-spectrum micronutrient formula or vitamin B6 (80 mg/day) Read the paper [doi.org/10.1089/acm.2019.0305](https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2019.0305)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Vitamin B6](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-vitamin-b6/)

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