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.