Adenine is used as an active component of boron-deficient media to grow yeast in order to assess whether yeast growth is stimulated by boron. It is useful as a local antiseptic and vitamin B4. Further, it is used in the microbial determination of niacin. It is also employed as a food supplement for adult rats to investigate the effects of dietary adenine overload. In addition to this, it is used in the production of nucleotides of the nucleic acids.