Intestinal absorption of biotin in the rat

We examined the absorption of biotin using the in vivo intestinal loop technique. Jejunal segments from male rats were filled with solutions containing [3H]biotin and [14C]inulin in Krebs-Ringer phosphate buffer, pH 6.5. Absorption was determined on the basis of luminal tritium disappearance after correction for inulin recovery. At biotin concentrations of 0.1 and 5.0 microM, luminal biotin disappearance was linear for at least 10 min. At biotin concentrations ranging from 2.3 nM to 75 microM, 10-28% of the administered dose was absorbed in 10 min. The concentration dependence of luminal biotin disappearance is consistent with the presence of both saturable and nonsaturable (linear) components of biotin uptake, with estimated Km = 9.6 microM and Jmax = 75.2 pmol/(2.5 cm loop X min). The rate constant for nonsaturable uptake is 3.1 pmol/(2.5 cm loop X min X microM). We conclude that at biotin concentrations less than 5 microM, biotin absorption proceeds largely by the saturable process, whereas at concentrations above 25 microM, nonsaturable uptake predominates. Additional studies demonstrated significantly less biotin uptake in the ileum than in the jejunum, a finding in agreement with previous in vitro studies.