BIOTIN 549 



With the permanganate method, oxybiotin has been demonstrated as 

 the substance accounting for the biotin-like activity of hydrolysates of 

 cells of Lactobacillus pentosus 124-2 grown in an oxybiotin medium. 33 

 No biotin could be demonstrated in the hydrolysates of the cells by the 

 differential growth inhibitor method. There was no significant difference 

 in the growth rate of the organism when oxybiotin replaced biotin in 

 stimulating growth. Either oxybiotin or biotin was absorbed from the 

 medium into the cell in larger amounts than necessary for growth, and 

 balance studies indicated that destruction of either compound became 

 apparent only at relatively high concentrations, where recoveries were 

 as low as 15 per cent. 



After several weeks of intramuscular injections of oxybiotin, the liver, 

 heart, spleen, lung and a sample of leg muscle were removed from chicks 

 which had been maintained on a biotin-deficient diet containing dry raw 

 egg white. 39 All these tissues assayed for oxybiotin by both the perman- 

 ganate method and the Raney's nickel method had a high content of 

 oxybiotin. The actual biotin content of the tissues was essentially iden- 

 tical with that of tissues from biotin-deficient chicks. Injections of chicks 

 with microbiologically equivalent amounts for Lactobacillus arabinosus 

 of either oxybiotin or biotin result in storage of these compounds in 

 similarly equivalent concentrations in the various tissues. Oxybiotin was 

 found to be bound in the tissues in a manner similar to that of biotin. 

 It was only partially liberated by hot water, but was readily freed by 

 acid hydrolysis. 



In contrast to this, it has been reported that administration of the 

 oxygen analogue orally to biotin-deficient chicks does not result in 

 appreciable accumulation of the analogue in the liver or leg muscle, even 

 though the analogue gives a growth response and cures the dermatitis of 

 the chicks. 30 



However, in total balance studies, 39 analysis of acid hydrolysates of 

 whole chicks grown on a biotin-deficient diet and of their combined 

 excreta by both the permanganate method and the Raney's nickel method 

 has demonstrated that the biotin content of chicks injected with oxy- 

 biotin was identical with that of control chicks and not significantly 

 different from that of newly hatched chicks. The amount of biotin 

 excreted by chicks injected with oxybiotin was identical with that ex- 

 creted by control chicks on the same biotin-deficient diet. Also, of a 

 total dosage of 32 or 64 y of DL-oxy biotin injected into chicks over a 

 period of two weeks, essentially all (75 per cent) of the oxybiotin was 

 recovered and was distributed almost equally between the chick and 

 excreta. Injected biotin was similarly recovered. 



These results with the chick and other organisms demonstrate that the 



