Biotin is a
vitamin of the B-complex, which plays an important biochemical role in every living cell. In the recent years, the interest in this
vitamin has been rekindled, mainly due to its association with serious human disorders, such as the inherited syndrome
multiple carboxylase deficiency, which can be successfully treated with
biotin administration. Diagnosis of
biotin deficiency as well as monitoring of
biotin levels in
biological fluids of patients receiving
biotin treatment is crucial. Equally important is the determination of
biotin levels in pharmaceutical preparations as well as in food and food supplement products, which constitute the main source of
biotin in humans. Several analytical methods for measuring
biotin in various samples, e.g. human fluids,
pharmaceutical formulations, food material etc., have been reported in the literature. In this review, the most representative of these methods are presented, and their characteristics are evaluated.