Topic:Biotin
Biotin is a water-soluble B vitamin that is involved in various metabolic processes in horses. It is an essential nutrient that plays a role in the synthesis of fatty acids, glucose metabolism, and amino acid catabolism. Biotin is often studied for its potential impact on hoof health and quality in horses, as it is thought to influence keratin production. Horses typically obtain biotin through their diet, but supplementation is sometimes considered, particularly for horses with poor hoof condition. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the role, dietary sources, and potential effects of biotin on equine health and hoof integrity.
Thirty-Two Weeks of Oral Supplementation with LinPro™ Increases Hoof Growth in Healthy Mares. LinPro™ (LP) is a commercial dietary supplement marketed to increase hoof growth and quality. Ten mature (5-15 years) non-pregnant Quarter Horse mares without existing hoof quality issues were used to test the hypothesis that 32 weeks of daily supplementation with 113 g of LP would increase hoof growth rates as compared to non-supplemented controls. Hooves were trimmed at the start of the study and every 8 weeks thereafter. A mark was applied on the hoof wall surface at 2.5 cm below the junction of the hoof wall and coronary band. At each trimming, the distance between the mark and coronary ...
B-Cell Epitope Mapping Using a Library of Overlapping Synthetic Peptides in an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay. This chapter describes a strategy for mapping linear B-cell epitopes of proteins using synthetic biotinylated peptides in an ELISA.A set of overlapping peptides were designed based upon a known amino acid sequence of the target protein, VapA (Virulence-associated Protein A) of the bacterium Rhodococcus equi, an important pulmonary pathogen in foals. The peptides synthesized as biotinylated peptides were coated directly onto micro titer plates which had been pre-coated with NeutrAvidin™ and used to screen sera from foals confirmed to have R. equi disease. A linear B-cell epitope was identifie...
Post-transfusion survival of biotin-labeled allogeneic RBCs in adult horses. Post-transfusion survival of allogeneic RBCs has been reported to be much shorter in horses than in other species. We hypothesized that post-transfusion survival of biotinylated allogeneic equine RBCs would be greater than the survival previously reported from studies using radioactive RBC-labeling techniques. Objective: The study objective was to determine post-transfusion survival of N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS)-biotin-labeled allogeneic equine RBCs transfused into adult horses. Methods: Horses were adults and included 5 donors and 5 recipients. All horses were blood-typed, and donors were pai...
Use of an in vitro biotinylation technique for determination of posttransfusion survival of fresh and stored autologous red blood cells in Thoroughbreds. To evaluate N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS)-biotin labeling of equine RBCs and determine posttransfusion survival of autologous equine RBCs stored in citrate phosphate dextrose adenine-1 (CPDA-1) for 0, 1, 14, and 28 days. Methods: 13 healthy adult Thoroughbreds. Methods: Serial dilutions of biotin and streptavidin-phycoerythrin (PE) were evaluated in vitro in blood collected from 3 horses. One horse was used to determine RBC distribution and recovery. Twelve horses were allocated to 4 groups for in vivo experiments in which blood was collected into CPDA-1. Blood was labeled with biotin and reinfus...
Evaluation of technetium Tc 99m-labeled biotin for scintigraphic detection of soft tissue inflammation in horses. To evaluate the use of technetium Tc 99m-labeled EDTA-biotin monomer ((99m)Tc-EB1) as a scintigraphic imaging agent for soft tissue inflammatory lesions in horses. Methods: 6 healthy adult horses. Methods: First (phase 1), the agent's safety and blood-tissue clearance and an appropriate imaging protocol were determined in 6 horses. Each horse was injected with (99m)Tc-EB1 (1.1 GBq, IV, once); images were acquired at intervals during the following 24-hour period. Subsequently (phase 2), inflammation was induced via injection of 200 mg (10 mL) of mepivacaine (0.4 mg/kg) into the right neck muscu...
Effect of supplementary dietary biotin on hoof growth and hoof growth rate in ponies: a controlled trial. The effect of dietary biotin supplementation, at a dose rate of 0.12 mg/kg bwt, on growth and growth rate of the hooves of 8 match-paired poines was investigated in a controlled feeding trial. Treatment animals had a mean hoof growth at the midline dead centre of the hoof capsule of 35.34 mm after 5 months of biotin supplementation compared to control animals 30.69 mm (P < 0.05). Comparison of regression analysis also showed that biotin supplementation produced a significantly higher (P < 0.02) growth rate of hoof horn in this trial. Treatment animals had a 15% higher growth rate of hoof horn ...
Beta-thiopropionyl cytochromes c modified at lysyl residues: preparation and characterization of the monosubstituted horse cytochromes c. beta-Thiopropionyl derivatives of horse cytochrome c singly modified at each of 18 different lysine epsilon-amino groups have been prepared using sulfosuccinimidyl-2-(biotinamido)ethyl-1,3-dithiopropionate and purified to homogeneity by high-pressure liquid chromatography. These derivatives were characterized by determination of: (i) the location of the modification; (ii) reduction potentials; (iii) visible and NMR spectra: and by (iv) measurement of electron transfer activity with cytochrome-c oxidase. No significant changes in structure were indicated, except for the ferric forms of the deri...
Histological and physical assessment of poor hoof horn quality in Lipizzaner horses and a therapeutic trial with biotin and a placebo. This paper represents the second part of a study searching for factors which could be responsible for an inferior hoof horn quality of the Lipizzaner horses of the Viennese Spanish Riding School (SRS) noticed in the late 1980s. It includes an evaluation of a treatment with biotin and 42 Lipizzaner horses were tested in a double blind study. The following parameters were evaluated: 1) the histology of the hoof horn in samples from the bearing border 2) the tensile strength of the coronary horn in bearing border samples and 3) the influence of biotin upon the histological changes and the tensile...
Hoof horn abnormalities in Lipizzaner horses and the effect of dietary biotin on macroscopic aspects of hoof horn quality. This study involved a macroscopic evaluation of hoof quality in 152 Lipizzaner horses (130 from Austria and 22 from other countries) and a controlled double blind trial of the effects of biotin on hoof horn growth and quality over 19 months in 42 stallions from the Spanish Riding School (SRS) in Vienna. Using a grading system that incorporated evaluation of horn wall, white line, sole and frog, the macroscopic study revealed the following: 90% of the Austrian Lipizzaners had soft white lines and crumbling, fissured horn at the bearing border of the walls; 39% of the stallions of the SRS, > ...
Genetic Bit Analysis: a solid phase method for typing single nucleotide polymorphisms. A new method for typing single nucleotide polymorphisms in DNA is described. In this method, specific fragments of genomic DNA containing the polymorphic site(s) are first amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using one regular and one phosphorothioate-modified primer. The double-stranded PCR product is rendered single-stranded by treatment with the enzyme T7 gene 6 exonuclease, and captured onto individual wells of a 96 well polystyrene plate by hybridization to an immobilized oligonucleotide primer. This primer is designed to hybridize to the single-stranded target DNA immediately...
The long-term influence of biotin supplementation on hoof horn quality in horses. The influence of dietary biotin in horses with brittle hoof horn and chipped hooves was investigated in a long-term study, which was performed over a period from one to six years. 97 horses received 5 mg of biotin per 100 to 150 kg of body weight, per os, daily; 11 horses were not supplemented with biotin and served as controls. The hooves of all horses were evaluated macroscopically every three to four months. Hoof horn specimens of the proximal wall were examined histologically and physically in 25 and 15 horses, respectively. The tensile strength of normal coronary horn was 60 N/mm2 or grea...
Effect of dietary biotin supplement on equine hoof horn growth rate and hardness. Over a 10-month period, 24 randomly selected riding horses were fed various amounts of biotin. Statistically significant improvements in growth rates and hardness of hooves were produced by biotin supplementation. Greater growth rates and hardness were achieved at a daily dose of 15 mg than at 7.5 mg. Increased hoof hardness was greatest in the hoof quarters and toe. No ring formation occurred in hooves of horses fed biotin intermittently.
Immunohistochemical observations on pneumonic lesions caused by Rhodococcus equi in foals. An immunohistochemical analysis of Rhodococcus equi-induced pneumonia in 10 foals was performed by biotin-streptavidin system. The detection of R. equi was more sensitive in immuno-stain using anti-R. equi serum than in Gram's stain. This bacteria also reacted to anti-BCG serum. Lysozyme and alpha 1-antitrypsin were detectable in macrophages. A particularly intense staining was observed in association with intracellular bacteria. Though a degree of reaction for alpha 1-antichymotrypsin was very low in comparison with lysozyme and alpha 1-antitrypsin, it was also demonstrated in macrophages ing...
[Pharmacologic effects of biotin on epidermal cells]. Biotin deficiency in animals causes pathological changes of the skin and its appendages including, for example, exfoliative dermatitis, depigmentation, and alopecia. The hooves of biotin-deficient swine are weak, brittle, and often necrotic. These changes disappear after dietary biotin supplementation. Biotin supplementation also noticeably improves the hoof quality of horses, cattle and swine having no apparent biotin deficiency. In order to elucidate the molecular basis of these effects, the influence of biotin on cytokeratin expression in a keratinocyte cell line (Ha-CaT) was investigated u...
Development of an avidin-biotin dot enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and its comparison with other serological tests for diagnosis of glanders in equines. A dot enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (dot ELISA) was developed for diagnosis of glanders in equines. The test was based on the detection of IgG antibodies to Pseudomonas mallei antigens bound to nitrocellulose coated on plastic strips (dipsticks), the reaction being amplified by an avidin-biotin system with biotinylated anti-horse IgG and horseradish peroxidase-avidin D. Sera from 810 normal, six naturally infected and 48 sensitized equines were tested by this assay, and results were compared with complement fixation, indirect haemagglutination and counter-immunoelectrophoresis tests. Dot E...
Vitamins and other metabolites in various sera commonly used for cell culturing. Many cell culture media use different sera to enhance growth. We assayed vitamins and some related metabolites in different sera and identified the concentration of: thiamin, biotin, folates, riboflavin, pantothenates, nicotinates, vitamins B6, B12, A, E, C, and carotenes and some related metabolites: biopterins, free inositol, free and total choline, total carnitines in chicken, horse, rabbit, goat, pig, calf, newborn calf, fetal calf and human sera. Results indicate that vitamin and metabolite content of different sera vary. Such variations could produce fluctuant effects on cell culturings ...
Scanning electron microscope observations of hoof horn from horses with brittle feet. Two types of defect were observed when hoof clippings from horses with brittle feet were viewed in the scanning electron microscope. The first defect showed a loss of structure and horn in the stratum externum. This defect was remedied after biotin treatment. The second defect showed poor attachment of the horn squames and failed to respond to biotin treatment alone. An improvement in this case was achieved by the addition of powdered limestone to the diet.
Blood vitamin and choline concentrations in healthy domestic cats, dogs, and horses. Blood concentrations of thiamin, biotin, nicotinates, pantothenates, folates, riboflavin, vitamins A, B6, B12, C, E, beta-carotene and choline were analyzed in healthy animals (23 horses, 25 dogs, and 29 cats). B-Complex vitamins and choline also were analyzed in the liver of the dogs and cats. Vitamin concentrations in the blood and livers of dogs were similar; however, blood vitamin A and beta-carotene concentrations were lower in the cat than in the dog. Horses had a higher B12 blood concentration than did the dogs and cats. These data can be useful for detecting overt and hidden vitamin de...
[The effect of vitamin H substitution on the growth and condition of hooves]. A long-term treatment with biotin (vitamin H) in 5 warm-blooded horses and 10 trotter horses is reported. The dose of 0.031-0.037 mg/kg body weight was well tolerated, and with a therapy period up to 10 months an improvement of the horn quality of the growing hoof could be attained as it had not been possible before with other measures. Biotin (Gabiotan) is recommendable as a therapeutic in all cases of hoof problems which are based on disturbed horn elasticity.
Clinical observations on the response of equine hoof defects to dietary supplementation with biotin. Horses with weak hoof horn, which becomes misshapen and crumbles around the lower parts of the hoof walls, pose problems for treatment in practice. The effects of dietary supplementation with a high level of the B-group vitamin biotin (which has proved successful in the treatment of the similar condition in pigs) were investigated in more than 40 cases. Varying degrees of improvement in the hardness, integrity and conformation of the hoof horn were observed in all cases. The signs and progress seen in three typical cases are described. It is concluded that dietary supplementation with 10 to 30...