BACKGROUND Current thinking, which is based mainly on rodent studies, is that physiologic doses of folic acid (pterylmonoglutamic acid), such as dietary vitamin folates, are biotransformed in the intestinal mucosa and transferred to the portal vein as the natural circulating plasma folate, 5-methyltetrahydrofolic acid (5-MTHF) before entering the liver and the wider systemic blood supply. OBJ...

We tested the hypothesis that methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T polymorphism, folic acid deficiency and riboflavin deficiency, independently or interactively, are important determinants of genomic stability, cell death, cell proliferation and homocysteine (Hcy) concentration in 9-d human lymphocyte cultures. Lymphocytes of seven wild-type (CC) and seven mutant (TT) homozygotes w...

BACKGROUND Endothelial dysfunction is considered as a fundamental and also preventable factor in the progression of vascular complications among type 1 diabetic patient. It occurs before the clinical manifestation of the mentioned complications. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of folic acid on endothelial function by measurements of adhesion molecules and von Willebrand factor...

OBJECTIVE To determine knowledge of folic acid use for neural tube defect (NTD) prevention and counseling practices among community pharmacists registered in Ohio. METHODS A cross-sectional study was performed on a random sample (n=500) of community pharmacists registered with the Ohio Board of Pharmacy and practicing in Ohio. A survey previously used by researchers to assess folic acid knowl...

Folic acid is a coenzyme for many important biochemical reactions including synthesis of purines, pyrimidines, and nucleoproteins. The recommended daily allowance of folic acid is 65 - 200 microg/day for infants and children. The recommended dose for deficiency states is 1000 microg/day; the effects of excess amounts of folic acid are unknown. The role of folic acid in preventing progression of...

Folic acid antioxidants were successfully intercalated into layered double hydroxides (LDH) nanoparticles according to a previous method with minor modification. The resultant folic acid-LDH constructs were then characterized by X-ray powder diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The in vitro antioxidant activities, cytotoxicity effect, and in vivo antifatigue were examined by a seri...

OBJECTIVE To assess the impact on birth size and risk of low birth weight of alternative combinations of micronutrients given to pregnant women. DESIGN Double blind cluster randomised controlled trial. SETTING Rural community in south eastern Nepal. PARTICIPANTS 4926 pregnant women and 4130 live born infants. INTERVENTIONS 426 communities were randomised to five regimens in which pregna...

Adequate intake of folic acid by women during very early pregnancy can markedly reduce risk of the development of neural-tube defects (NTD). The effectiveness of advice to women to take folic acid supplements is limited, mainly because 50% of pregnancies are unplanned. However, mandatory folic acid food fortification programmes in North America have been very successful in reducing NTD rates. I...

The effect of oral folic acid on jejunal glycolytic enzyme activity in five fasting obese patients and in three normal male volunteers on a constant 3000 cal diet was studied. The glycolytic enzymes, fructokinase, hexokinase, glucokinase, fructose-1-phosphate aldolase, and fructose diphosphate aldolase, and the disaccharidases, sucrase, maltase, and lactase were measured. In both the fasting pa...

BACKGROUND Lowering serum homocysteine levels with folic acid is expected to reduce mortality from ischemic heart disease. Homocysteine reduction is known to be maximal at a folic acid dosage of 1 mg/d, but the effect of lower doses (relevant to food fortification) is unclear. METHODS We randomized 151 patients with ischemic heart disease to 1 of 5 dosages of folic acid (0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, a...