Folic acid deficiency is implicated in the aetiology of nutritional anaemia and adverse pregnancy outcomes for the fetus. Data on folic acid status among adolescent girls and non-pregnant, non-lactating young women are limited. We assessed folic acid status in a random sample of 552 subjects (277 adolescent girls aged 15-18.9 years and 275 women aged 19-30 years) living in Colombo, Sri Lanka. T...

INTRODUCTION Fortification with folic acid was prohibited in the Netherlands. Since 2007, a general exemption is given to fortify with folic acid up until a maximum level of 100 µg/100 kcal. This maximum level was based on a calculation model and data of adults only. The model requires parameters on intake (diet, supplements, energy) and on the proportion of energy that may be fortified. This s...

AIM The adequacy of 50 mcg folic acid supplementation given to low-birth-weight babies was investigated. The folate levels of the mothers and infants, and breastmilk, and the optimum dose for folic acid supplementation were also investigated. MATERIAL AND METHODS After obtaining blood from 141 low-birth-weight infants on the 1st day of life for serum and red cell folate levels, the infants we...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia. Amyloid-β protein (Aβ) is identified as the core protein of neuritic plaques. Aβ is generated by the sequential cleavage of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) via the APP cleaving enzyme (α-secretase, or β-secretase) and γ-secretase. Previous studies indicated that folate deficiency elevated Aβ deposition in APP/PS1 mice, and this r...

The urinary excretion of tritiated folic acid after a single intravenous injection in man has been measured by Johns, Sperti, and Burgen (1). Plasma concentrations of the labeled compound fell sharply initially, and then more slowly. Urinary clearance in terms of the later, slowly declining plasma levels was shown, at plasma concentrations above 10 jug per L, to be independent of plasma level a...

As a nutritional factor, folic acid can prevent cardiac and neural defects during embryo development. Our previous study showed that arsenic impairs embryo development by down-regulating Dvr1/GDF1 expression in zebrafish. Here, we investigated whether folic acid could protect against arsenic-mediated embryo toxicity. We found that folic acid supplementation increases hatching and survival rates...

Folate deficiency can cause chromosome damage, which could result from reduced de novo thymidylate synthesis or DNA hypomethylation. High folic acid intake has been hypothesized to inhibit folate-dependent one-carbon metabolism, which could also lead to DNA damage. A large proportion of the general population may have high folic acid intakes. In this study, 2 experiments were conducted to exami...

Emerging evidence has suggested that folic acid-containing multivitamins may markedly reduce the risk of gestational hypertension or preeclampsia. We examined whether maternal supplementation with folic acid alone during early pregnancy can prevent the occurrence of gestational hypertension and preeclampsia. The data are from a large population-based cohort study established to evaluate the eff...

BACKGROUND The importance of unmetabolized folic acid in maternal and fetal blood is not known. OBJECTIVE We investigated total folate, tetrahydrofolate (THF), 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF), formyl-THF, 5,10-methenylTHF, and folic acid concentrations in women and in umbilical cord blood at delivery. DESIGN The study included 87 pregnant women and 29 cord blood samples, including 24 moth...

BACKGROUND Most of the folic acid sources are rich also in potassium. Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) usually receive a low potassium diet. We investigated the possibility of an association between low potassium diet and folic acid deficiency. METHODS In total, 128 CKD patients participated in this cross-sectional study. Sixty-four patients with CKD grades 1 and 2 were on an unrest...