Supplements and food fortification

 

Biotin, usually either in the form of crystalline D-biotin or brewer’s yeast, is added to many dietary supplements, infant milk formulas and baby foods, as well as various dietetic products. As a supplement, biotin is often included in combinations of the B vitamins. Monopreparations of biotin are available in some countries as oral and parenteral formulations.

Therapeutic doses of biotin for patients with a biotin deficiency range between 5 and 20 mg daily. Seborrheic dermatitis and Leiner's disease in infants respond to daily doses of 5 mg. Patients with biotinidase deficiency require life-long biotin therapy in milligram doses (5-10mg/day). Patients with HCS deficiency require supplementation of 40-100 mg/day. If biotin therapy is introduced in infancy, the prognosis for both these genetic defects are good.

A daily supplement of 60 µg biotin for adults and 20 µg for children has been recommended to maintain normal plasma levels in patients on total parenteral nutrition.