Biotin supplements helped mice with colitis in lab study
What it found
In mice with chemically induced colitis, biotin in drinking water delayed and eased disease signs and helped healing.
The same transport pathway was altered in people with active ulcerative colitis.
What they found
Studies in people
Biotin transporter in people
SMVT, the biotin transporter, was decreased in colon tissue from patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis compared with healthy controls.
Animal and lab studies
Colitis severity reduced
Mice given biotin had delayed onset and less severe colitis, with better Disease Activity Index scores, lower fecal calprotectin, and longer colons than untreated mice.
Healing sped up
When biotin was started after colitis was induced, mice recovered more quickly, with Disease Activity Index scores returning to baseline and improved colon length and histology.
Inflammatory cytokines lowered
Biotin-treated mice had reduced levels of interleukin 6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and interleukin 1 beta in the colon compared with untreated mice.
Gut barrier improved
Biotin therapy reduced intestinal permeability and restored levels of tight junction proteins zonula occludens-1 and claudin-2 toward normal.
NF-kB activation reduced
Biotin therapy lowered the active phosphorylated form of NF-kB p65 in the colon, while total NF-kB p65 levels stayed the same.
What the authors conclude
“Oral supplementation with biotin provides benefit for maintenance and induction of remission in the dextran sodium sulfate preclinical model for IBD.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that oral biotin supplementation provides benefit for maintenance and induction of remission in the dextran sodium sulfate preclinical model for IBD.
- They say biotin does this by reducing activation of NF-kB, which prevents production of inflammatory cytokines and helps maintain the integrity of the intestinal barrier.
- They suggest that biotin may have therapeutic potential for patients with IBD and call for future clinical studies to test it as an adjunct therapy.
How it was done
Biotin deficiency can cause an IBD-like state in mice, but biotin supplements had never been tested as a treatment in established models of inflammatory bowel disease.
Mice were given dextran sodium sulfate in drinking water to cause colitis, then treated with 1 mmol/L biotin in drinking water either before or after colitis began. Colon tissue was checked for damage, inflammatory markers, and NF-kB activation. Human biopsy samples from patients with ulcerative colitis were also tested for the biotin transporter SMVT.
What it can’t tell you
- These experiments were mostly in mice, so they cannot show whether biotin would help people with IBD.
- The human data only show a link between active ulcerative colitis and lower levels of the biotin transporter; they cannot prove that low transporter causes colitis or that biotin supplements would treat it.
- The study did not test different doses of biotin or compare it with existing IBD medications.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by NCATS NIH HHS; NIAID NIH HHS; NIDDK NIH HHS; BLRD VA; NINDS NIH HHS; NIAAA NIH HHS (from the PubMed record).
- Authors work at
- University of California Irvine, California
The paper
- Title
- Biotin Supplementation Ameliorates Murine Colitis by Preventing NF-κB Activation
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Skupsky J, Sabui S, Hwang M, Nakasaki M, Cahalan MD, Said HM (2020). Biotin Supplementation Ameliorates Murine Colitis by Preventing NF-κB Activation. Cellular and molecular gastroenterology and hepatology. doi:10.1016/j.jcmgh.2019.11.011Free full textPubMed 31786364DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error