Folic acid (also known as vitamin B9 or folacin) and folate (the naturally occurring form), as well as pteroyl-L-glutamic acid and pteroyl-L-glutamate, are forms of the water-soluble vitamin B9. Folic acid is itself not biologically active, but its biological importance is due to tetrahydrofolate and other derivatives after its conversion to dihydrofolic acid in the liver.
Vitamin B9 (folic acid and folate inclusive) is essential to numerous bodily functions ranging from nucleotide biosynthesis to the remethylation of homocysteine. The human body needs folate to synthesize DNA, repair DNA, and methylate DNA as well as to act as a cofactor in biological reactions involving folate. It is especially important during periods of rapid cell division and growth. Both children and adults require folic acid to produce healthy red blood cells and prevent anemia. Folate and folic acid derive their names from the Latin word ''folium'' (which means "leaf"). Leafy vegetables are a principal source, although in Western diets fortified cereals and bread may be a larger dietary source.
A lack of dietary folic acid leads to folate deficiency (FD). This can result in many health problems, most notably neural tube defects in developing embryos. Low folate can also lead to homocysteine accumulation as a result of one carbon metabolism mechanism being impaired.
The New York Times newspaper named folic acid as the "World's Healthiest Food" since absence of folic acid and a handful of other micronutrients particularly in the fetal development stages causes severe deformities and diseases that are otherwise preventable. According to the article, adding folic acid and micronutrients to the food supply of developing countries would make a greater impact on world health than any other single action aimed at improving world health.
Further Reading
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article on
"Folic acid"
All material adapted used from Wikipedia is available under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
Wikipedia® itself is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.