Research Nutrition Trust

Folic Acid is a relatively cheap, synthetic form of folate that has often been the primary choice of folate for many clinical studies over the last century. In conditions where folate is required, the potentially superior benefits of Folinic Acid supplementation as a safe, well tolerated and affordable form of folate, may often be overlooked…

Folate functions as a cofactor for enzymes involved in one-carbon metabolism. Folate provides one-carbon units for the formation of nucleotides necessary for the synthesis of RNA and DNA.

Folate is also fundamental for the normal functioning of the methionine cycle, including the conversion of homocysteine to methionine and the production of the universal methyl donar S-adenosylmethionine (SAM).

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References

[1] European Food Safety Authority 2014, Scientific Opinion on Dietary Reference Values for folate, Accessed 10th March 2017, https://www.efsa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/consultation/140722.pdf

[2] Nutrient Reference Values for Australian and New Zealand, 2014, Folate, Accessed 10th March 2017, https://www.nrv.gov.au/nutrients/folate

[3] Scholl, T & Johnson, W 2002, ‘Folic acid: influence on the outcome of pregnancy’, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 71, no. 5, pp. 1295s-1303s.

[4] Gropper, S, Smith, J & Groff, J 2004, ‘Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism’, 4th Edition, Wadsworth, USA.

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[6] Thorne Research 2005, Folic Acid, Alternative Medicine Review, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 222-9.

[7] Kelly, P, McPartlin, J, Goggins, M, Weir, DG & Scott, JM 1996, ‘Unmetabolized folic acid in serum: acute studies in subjects consuming fortified food and supplements’, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 65, no. 6, pp. 1790–5.

[8] Smith, D, Young-In Kim & Refsum, H 2008, ‘Is folic acid good for everyone?’, American Society for Nutrition, vol. 87, no. 3, pp. 517-33.

[9] Whitehead, VM, Pratt, R, Viallet, A, Cooper, BA 1972, ‘Intestinal conversion of folinic acid to 5- methyltetrahydrofolate in man’, British Journal of Haematology, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 63-72.

[10] Levitt, M, Nixon, PF, Pincus, JH & Bertino, JR 1971, ‘Transport characteristics of folates in cerebrospinal fluid; a study utilizing doubly labeled 5-methyltetrahydrofolate and 5-formyltetrahydrofolate’, Journal of Clinical Investigation, vol. 50, pp. 1301-8.

[11] Spector, R ‘Cerebrospinal fluid folate and the blood-brain barrier’, In: Botez, MI & Reynolds, EH 1979, Folic Acid in Neurology, Psychiatry, and Internal Medicine, New York: Raven Press

[12] Willems FF, Boers GH, Blom HJ, Aengevaeren WR, Verheugt FW, 2004, ‘Pharmacokinetic study on the utilisation of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate and folic acid in patients with coronary artery disease’  British Journal of Pharmacology, vol. 141, no. 5, pp. 825-30.

[13] Oberg, E, Givant, C, Fisk, B, Parikh, C & Bradley, R 2015, Epigenetics in Clinical Practice: Characterizing Patient and Provider Experiences with MTHFR Polymorphisms and Methylfolate, J Nutrigenet Nutrigenomics, vol. 8, pp. 137–150.