It is only within recent years that a satisfactory method for estimating the serum folate level has been available, and since this test was introduced a number of investigators have reported the occurrence of nutritional megaloblastic anaemia due to folic acid deficiency in the United Kingdom, particularly in elderly persons (Gough, Read, McCarthy, and Waters, 1963 ; Varadi and Elwis, 1964; For...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the long-term effects of the Canadian folic acid fortification program in older adults' whole blood cell folate (folate) and cobalamin (Cbl) status, including homocysteine (tHcy) and methylmalonic acid (MMA), with and without voluntary B-vitamin intake, from 1997 to 2004. METHODS Cohort of community-dwelling volunteer older adults. Clinical and biochemical data, inclu...

Vitamin B12 is utilized as an essential cofactor in a wide range of enzyme-catalyzed reactions. Most of the enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of this complex macromolecule have now been identified and biochemically characterized.1 Cobyric acid synthetase (CbiP) from Salmonella typhimurium catalyzes the ATP-dependent amidation of adenosyl-cobyrinic acid a,c-diamide (I) at carboxylates b, d, e...

BACKGROUND Various definitions, criteria, tests, and cutoffs have been used to define vitamin B-12 status; however, a need exists for the systematic study of vitamin B-12 status in the United States because of concerns about high folic acid intakes and the potential for associated adverse effects. OBJECTIVE The objective was to determine the effect of different cutoff choices on outcomes and ...

Arabidopside A isolated from Arabidopsis thaliana is a rare oxylipin, containing 12-oxophytodienoic acid (OPDA) and dinor-oxophytodienoic acid (dn-OPDA) which are known as precursors of jasmonic acid (JA) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA). The senescence-promoting effect of arabidopside A was examined by an oat (Avena sativa) leaf assay under dark or continuous light condition. Arabidopside A promote...

BACKGROUND Population-based data on the prevalence of cobalamin and folate deficiency in India are lacking. OBJECTIVE The objective was to measure the prevalence of cobalamin and folate deficiency among children aged 6-30 mo residing in a low-to-middle income community in North India. DESIGN Children aged 6-30 mo (n = 2482) were identified through a community survey in a low-to-middle socio...

The origin of the methyl group on carbon atom 1 of Ring A of the corrin ring of vitamin Blz was investigated by W and lH magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Recently we found by the same technique that this methyl group does not originate from the S-carbon atom of d-aminolevulinic acid. This was of considerable interest, for it has been considered that in the fusion of Rings A and D the potential ...

Measurements of the serum concentrations of the metabolites homocysteine, cystathionine, methylmalonic acid, and 2-methylcitric acid, which accumulates when vitamin B-12-, folate-, and vitamin B-6-dependent enzymatic reactions are impaired, should provide a better indication of intracellular deficiency of these vitamins. We measured the serum concentration of these vitamins and the four metabol...

12-Lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase 1 are the dominating enzymes that metabolize arachidonic acid in human platelets. In addition to the conversion of arachidonic acid to 12(S)-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid, 12-lipoxygenase can also utilize 5(S)-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid and 15(S)-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid to form 5(S), 12(S)-dihydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid and 14(R), 15(S)-dihydroxyeicosate...