biotin

American  

[bahy-uh-tin] / ˈbaɪ ə tɪn /

noun

Biochemistry.

biotins plural

1. a crystalline, water-soluble vitamin, C 10 H 16 O 3 N 2 S, of the vitamin B complex, that is present in all living cells and functions as a growth factor and as a catalyst in carboxylation reactions.

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biotin British  

/ ˈbaɪətɪn /

noun

1. a vitamin of the B complex, abundant in egg yolk and liver, deficiency of which causes dermatitis and loss of hair. Formula: C 10 H 16 N 2 O 3 S See also avidin

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biotin Scientific  

/ bī′ə-tĭn /

1. A water-soluble organic acid belonging to the vitamin B complex that is important in the metabolism of carbohydrates and fatty acids. It is also a cofactor for some coenzymes that catalyze the synthesis of organic acids in the body. Biotin is found in liver, egg yolks, milk, yeast, and some vegetables. Chemical formula: C ₁₀ H ₁₆ N ₂ O ₃ S.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• biotins
  plural

Etymology

Origin of biotin

1935–40; < German Biotin < Greek biotḗ life + -in -in ²

Example Sentences

There is little scientific evidence that oral biotin helps hair or nail growth in people undergoing or recovering from cancer treatment.

From Science Daily • May 7, 2026

"The amount of information on the Internet can lead you in different directions. I was taking so much biotin it's not even funny," she said.

From Science Daily • May 7, 2026

I doubled down on biotin, Amazon-Primed pumpkin seed oil supplements and surgically applied Epres bond repair treatment three times a week.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 9, 2025

The approach involves genetically modifying a particular organ within an animal so that its cells affix a marker, the molecule biotin, to proteins due to be secreted.

From Science Magazine • May 22, 2024

By systematically depleting nearly all the nutrients from the broth, Beadle found that the mold strains could still grow on a minimal broth containing nothing more than a sugar and a vitamin called biotin.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee