Vitamin B7 (Biotin)
While essential for growth and metabolizing foods, vitamin B7 (biotin) is a water-soluble vitamin that must be replenished daily as there is no way for the body to store it.
Vitamin B7 (biotin) benefits
Aside from metabolizing foods, there are a few conditions that may be associated with the benefits of vitamin B7 (bioton) such as the treatment of thinning hair, red scaly rashes around the eyes, nose, and mouth. It may also aid in treating depression, listlessness (apathy), hallucinations, and a tingling often found in the arms and legs but more evidence is required to say for sure.
Sources of vitamin B7 (biotin)
Foods that contain vitamin B7 (biotin) are cereals, chocoloate, egg yolk, legumes, milk, nuts, pork, and yeast.
Recommended amounts
There are no established values for the Recommended Dietary Allowances for vitamin B7 (biotin). Below are the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) from the Food and Nutrition Board at the Institute of Medicine
| Table 1: Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) for vitamin B7 (biotin)1 | ||||||
| Age | Amount | |||||
| 0-6 months | 5mcg/day (adequate intake) | |||||
| 7-12 months | 6mcg/day (adequate intake) | |||||
| 1-3 years | 8mcg/day (adequate intake) | |||||
| 4-8 years | 12mcg/day (adequate intake) | |||||
| 9-13 years | 20mcg/day (adequate intake) | |||||
| 14-18 years | 25mcg/day (adequate intake) | |||||
| 19+ years | 30mcg/day (adequate intake) | |||||
| Pregnant Females | 30mcg/day (adequate intake) | |||||
| Nursing Females19+ years | 35mcg/day (adequate intake) | |||||
Vitamin B7 (biotin) deficiency
There are currently no known symptoms of a vitamin B7 (biotin) deficiency.
Sources:
1Biotin - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/313.html
Pantothenic acid and biotin - All Information - http://www.umm.edu/ency/article/002410all.htm
Pantothenic acid and biotin - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002410.htm