In the past, lipoic acid has been administered to patients and test animals
as therapy for diabetic neuropathy and various intoxications. Lipoic acid
and the vitamin biotin have structural similarities. We sought to determine
whether the chronic administration of lipoic acid affects the activities of
biotin-dependent carboxylases. For 28 d, rats received daily intraperitoneal
injections of one of the following: 1 ) a small dose of lipoic acid [4.3
µmol/( kg·d)]; 2 ) a large dose of lipoic acid [15.6 µmol/(kg·d)]; or 3 ) a
large dose of lipoic acid plus biotin [15.6 and 2.0 µmol/(kg·d),
respectively]. Another group received n-hexanoic acid [14.5 µmol/(kg·d)],
which has structural similarities to lipoic acid and biotin and thus served
as a control for the specificity of lipoic acid. A fifth group received
phosphatidylcholine in saline injections and served as the vehicle control.
The rat livers were assayed for the activities of acetyl-CoA carboxylase,
pyruvate carboxylase, propionyl-CoA carboxylase, and -methylcrotonyl-CoA
carboxylase. Urine was analyzed for lipoic acid; serum was analyzed for
indicators of liver damage and metabolic aberrations. The mean activities of
pyruvate carboxylase and -methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase were 28-36% lower
in the lipoic acid-treated rats compared with vehicle controls (P < 0.05).
Rats treated with lipoic acid plus biotin had normal carboxylase activities.
Carboxylase activities in livers of n-hexanoic acid-treated rats were normal
despite some evidence of liver injury. Propionyl-CoA carboxylase and
acetyl-CoA carboxylase were not significantly affected by administration of
lipoic acid. This study provides evidence consistent with the hypothesis
that chronic administration of lipoic acid lowers the activities of pyruvate
carboxylase and -methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase in vivo by competing with
biotin.

Since BIOTIN is necessary for healthy hair(see below) and the above study
shows that lipoic acid reduces its actvity there can be a chance of hair
loss problem with lopic acid supplements, thus it usually has about 100 mcg
of Biotin added to capsules/mix to counter this negative effect.

Researchers have speculated that biotin and alpha lipoic acid may compete
with each other for absorption or uptake into cells; but little is known
about the importance of these interactions in humans.

Packer et al. (1999) in their book The Antioxidant Miracle, recommend taking
biotin supplements with alpha-lipoic acid when the daily intake exceeds 100
mg. (Alpha-lipoic acid may compete with biotin and interfere with biotin's
activities in the body.)

jackD

Vitamin B7 Biotin Hair Loss Treatment
Vitamin B7 Biotin supplements are often recommended as natural products to
combat hair loss problems; however, there are no studies that show any
benefit of Biotin in treating hair loss where the subject is not actually
biotin deficient.

Biotin has been used as a hair growth vitamin, and as well used to prevent
(reduce) excessive hair loss. Biotin appears to metabolize fatty acids which
are valuable growth components in numerous processes in the body including
hair. When an individual is deficient in vitamin B's, especially vitamin B6,
biotin, inositol, and folic acid, hair loss can occur. B vitamins such as
pantothenic acid, niacin, biotin are especially important for hair growth.

Typical signs and symptoms of biotin deficiency includes hair loss, and in
extremely severe biotin deficiency cases includes loss of eye lashes and eye
brows. Although there are shampoos which contain biotin, but its
effectiveness is questionable since biotin is not absorbed well through the
skin. While hair loss is hereditary for many men, maintaining a good,
balanced diet that supplies your body with a proper, balanced nutrition can
help slow down the hair loss - some balding men may find that taking a
Vitamin B7 Biotin supplement can help slowdown their hair loss.

There are various foods that are good sources of biotin, and they include:
eggs, liver, milk, yeast, kidney, beef, chicken, peanuts, and cheese.

Biotin Side Effects & Health Benefits
Basically, you need Biotin to properly use fats and amino acids from your
foods. In its physiologically active form, biotin is attached at the active
site of four important enzymes, known as carboxylases. Each carboxylase
catalyzes an essential metabolic reaction.

As mentioned before, deficiency in Biotin can result hair loss and weak
finger nails. Studies in this area is being carried out and the results are
not yet clear.

There are no know Biotin side effects; however there are risks of biotin
deficiency. On the plus side, Biotin has many health benefits - it's used to
treat hair loss and a number of skin disorders.

Vitamin B7 Biotin RDA
In 1998 the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine felt the
existing scientific evidence was insufficient to calculate an RDA for
biotin, so they set an Adequate Intake level (AI). The AI for biotin assumes
that current average intakes of biotin (35 mcg to 60 mcg/day) are meeting
the dietary requirement.

Daily recommendations for dietary vitamin B7 are listed below.

Children and Youth:

Infants 0-6 months: 5 mcg/day
Infants 7-12 months: 6 mcg/day
Children 1-3 years: 8mcg/day
Children 4-8 years: 12 mcg/day
Children 9-13 years: 20 mcg/day
Adolescents 14-18 years: 25 mcg/day (female) 25 mcg/day (male)

Adults:

Adults 19 years and older: 30 mcg/day (female) 30 mcg/day (male)
Pregnancy all ages: 30 mcg/day
Breastfeeding