Biotin
From Ganfyd
Common Name:Biotin
Biochemical Information
Molecular Structure
Important Issues in Man
Relevant Clinical Literature
RCT with Biotin from Pubmed
Water-soluble chemical compound necessary in several metabolic reactions. It is classed as vitamin - named either as vitamin B7, i.e. a member of the B-group vitamins or sometimes separately as vitamin H.
It is a lesser known vitamin because biotin deficiency[1] is rare for several reasons:
- Daily biotin requirements are modest.
- Biotin is tightly recycled within the body.
- Biotin is ubiquitous in various foods.
- Biotin can be synthesized by intestinal bacteria.
Biotin binds very strongly ('avidly') to avidin, a compound found in raw eggs, so in theory, excessive ingestion of raw egg could cause biotin deficiency. The strong biochemical association between avidin and biotin can be exploited in molecular techniques such as ELISA or immunohistochemistry by allowing coupling of the primary antibody to the secondary antibody.
