title: Low serum biotin in Japanese children fed with hydrolysate formula.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Given that nutritional biotin deficiency in Japanese infants has been reported, a straightforward method for estimating biotin level is needed. The biotin content in infant formula, breast milk, and the sera of infants fed with various types of formula were measured using avidin-binding assay.
  
  
  METHODS
  A commercially available ELISA kit was used for the measurement of biotin in 54 types of formula, including hydrolysate formulas for milk allergy, as well as in breast milk and in the sera of 27 infants fed with these formulas.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The biotin content reached the recommended value in only five formulas. All of the hydrolysate formulas and more than half of the special formulas contained biotin <0.1 μg/dL. Serum biotin was low in infants fed only with the hydrolysate formulas, and one of them had alopecia related to biotin deficiency.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While many were asymptomatic, infants fed with formulas lacking biotin are at risk of developing symptomatic disease. The addition of biotin to breast milk substitutes was finally approved in the middle of 2014, however pediatricians in Japan should still be vigilant with regard to nutritional biotin deficiency in infants for the time being.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Dietetics, Faculty of Health and Medical Science, Teikyo Heisei University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wakabayashi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. eogawaster@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Eishin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Dietetics, Faculty of Health and Medical Science, Teikyo Heisei University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kodama
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Masakazu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mimaki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001710:Biotin / Q000097:blood* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D041943:Infant Formula / Q000737:chemistry*; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena / Q000502:physiology*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011492:Protein Hydrolysates / Q000008:administration & dosage*
chemical_list: D011492:Protein Hydrolysates; D001710:Biotin
keywords: biotin deficiency; children; enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; hydrolysate formula; milk allergy