What is Biotin?
Biotin is also known as vitamin H or vitamin B7. It’s a water-soluble vitamin and one of the vitamins in the B complex group. Biotin is an essential vitamin for all types of life on Earth, from single-celled bacteria to humans. The etymological meaning of ‘biotin’ is ‘life’ or ‘sustenance’ as it derives from the Greek word ‘biotos’ [1].
What Does Biotin Do?
Biotin is a crucial coenzyme within critical metabolic pathways; it is needed for five carboxylase enzymes that mediate various aspects of fatty acid, amino acid and gluconeogenesis metabolism, among other processes, and which are essential for the body to process food and generate energy [2].
Biotin promotes the well-being of your skin, hair, eyes, liver and nervous system. Pregnant women need it for embryonic growth [1].
In addition to its role in metabolism, biotin modulates chromatin structure and gene regulation by being covalently attached to distinct lysine residues in histones [2].
In addition to producing energy from food, biotin is also essential for the metabolic utilisation of glucose and lipids through participatory and separate mechanisms—that is, biotin modulates the expression of metabolic enzymes through multiple signalling pathways and transcription factors [3].
Although it has several other roles, human cells don’t make their own biotin. They acquire it from dietary sources such as egg yolk, nuts, and mushrooms and from intestinal bacteria [1, 4].
Benefits of Biotin
Biotin is also known as vitamin H or B7. It is a water-soluble B-complex vitamin that helps the skin, hair, eyes, and nervous system maintain good health [1, 4]. It helps in the metabolism of fatty acids and carbohydrates. Biotin is vital for pregnant women as it’s essential for embryo growth.
One of biotin's prominent roles is helping the body convert food into energy. It breaks down fats and carbohydrates in food, turning them into fuel for many of the body’s essential activities [1, 4].
It has been shown that biotin not only prevents metabolic syndrome by normalising all the hepatic and serum insulin resistance (e.g., normal triglyceride and cholesterol levels in the serum and liver, as well as blood pressure) but also prevents steatosis and hepatic oxidative damage [5].
Furthermore, biotin supplementation led to enhanced insulin secretion and improved gene expression to promote islet function, which could also represent a new target for preventing and treating diabetes [6].
Biotin also helps control LDL (bad) cholesterol and blood sugar levels. It’s also used to make keratin, one of the primary components of fingernails, hair, and skin [4].
However, it’s worth noting that while some of these are widely advertised as giving your hair and nails a boost, no studies currently indicate that taking biotin supplements works [7].
Risk Factors of Biotin
Although anyone can become deficient in biotin, a rare inherited disorder that prevents the body from recycling this vitamin, it increases the risk for people with this disorder [4].
Biotin deficiency is another risk factor because of pregnancy. Since biotin deficiency could cause some birth defects, it is crucial for pregnant women to make sure that they do not become biotin deficient [4].
Antibiotics are another common source of biotin deficiency. Most antibiotics kill beneficial bacteria in your gut that can naturally produce biotin [4].
Anti-seizure medicines are the most likely medication to interfere with vitamin absorption, and a few do it specifically by blocking biotin. If you take them long enough, you’ll need a biotin supplement [4].
However, those using IV nutrition or needing tube feeding may absorb less biotin. So they might, unless they return to food biotin supplements [4].
Smoking can increase biotin metabolism in the body, leading to a deficiency [7].
Another deficiency sometimes related to avid raw egg eaters is biotin deficiency. Raw egg whites can interfere with biotin absorption since they contain a protein that binds to biotin and inhibits its absorption [7].
Does Biotin Make You Break Out?
Biotin (also known as vitamin B7) is a water-soluble B vitamin critical component of different metabolic pathways, including fatty acid synthesis – which we need for healthy skin [4, 7, 8]. This is often stated as the reason for the association between biotin supplementation and skin breakouts, although without an actual study, any underlying mechanism remains speculative.
Biotin deficiency is rare but can cause dermatological issues, including scaly, erythematous dermatitis, whose features tend to be exacerbated around the body orifices [8]. A case study where a Japanese boy’s severe skin rash was due to biotin deficiency showed improvements in his skin condition after treatment with biotin supplements [9]. This indicates that biotin can be used to improve the health of our skin when we are deficient.
However, no solid scientific evidence indicates that biotin supplementation can cause skin rash or acne in individuals with normal levels of biotin. Most of the studies reported focused on the effects of biotin deficiency and not on those individuals with normal levels of biotin.