Re: Supplements

Hi Mark:

Quoted message said:

The Pauling Institute:

http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/contentnuts.html

Their information is science based and represents the latest concensus on
each topic, browse around the web site via the links.

I followed the biotin references and once linked there is a significant
body of research.

The following study queued my interest:

Excerpt from the Discussion section:
"This study investigated the effects of pharmacologic doses of biotin on
proliferation and functional capabilities of immune cells in healthy
adults. We chose biotin for the following four reasons: 1) biotin is
accumulated in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) by an active
transport mechanism, potentially leading to large intracellular
concentrations. 2) Biotin plays a role in gene expression and DNA
packaging, suggesting a potential role in cell proliferation. 3) Biotin
therapy at pharmacologic doses is justified in some biotin-related
inborn errors; in addition, treatment with pharmacologic doses of biotin
coupled to a radionuclide is an emerging practice in radioimmunotherapy.
Even though no toxicity for biotin has been reported, the
bioavailability of biotin is ~100% even at pharmacologic doses. Hence,
high intracellular levels of biotin could likely result from biotin
supplementation. 4) Biotin, pantothenic acid and lipoic acid appear to
share a common transporter for cellular uptake; all three substrates
bind with similar affinity. Hence, if pharmacologic biotin
concentrations lead to saturation of transporter-binding sites, cellular
uptake of pantothenic acid might be affected. The importance of CoA, the
coenzyme form of pantothenic acid, for cell proliferation is well
documented. Given the cases in which large doses of biotin are used
legitimately and the potential role of biotin in cell proliferation,
investigating the effects of biotin supplements on PBMC proliferation
and cytokine synthesis is justified." Source: In Vivo Biotin
Supplementation at a Pharmacologic Dose Decreases Proliferation Rates of
Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells and Cytokine Release
http://www.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/131/5/1479

One participant from another newsgroup is using pantothenic acid therapy
to improve their lipid profile. Mega doses of biotin may impact the use
of pantothenic acid with lipids.

Frank