Nutritional Significance of Inositol and Biotin for the Pig
July 1946
in “
The journal of nutrition/The Journal of nutrition
”
TLDR Biotin and inositol are crucial for pig health and growth.
During a 5-week trial, adding inositol or biotin to a basal ration containing six B-complex vitamins showed no beneficial effect on pig growth or feed efficiency. However, when sulfathalidine was added, pigs developed a syndrome including spasticity, hair loss, and skin issues, which was prevented by adding biotin. Inositol also alleviated these symptoms, possibly by stimulating intestinal biotin synthesis. Biotin and inositol are important for feed utilization efficiency, as their deficiency led to smaller gains despite the same feed intake.