Folate (Vitamin B9) Flashcards
Where is folate (vitamin B9) found?
Found in most foods, particularly in liver and yeast, but also in green vegetables and nuts.
Folate is easily destroyed by?
Destroyed by cooking
Recommended daily amount of folate is?
400 mcg/day - this number is slightly higher in pregnancy.
How much folate is stored in the body? How long do stores last?
Body stores are similar to B12 (5-10 mg), but you use a lot more, and this means that this will only last about 3-4 months.
In Australia, since 2009, what is being done about folate?
Fortifying bread with folate.
3-4 slices of bread fills up daily requirement.
Folate deficiency has fallen by 77%.
Folate is in a ________ form in food.
Polyglutamate
Where does folate travel through to?
Upper small intestine
Folate is an essential ingredient for?
Methyl THF used in: homocysteine -> methionine.
Folate acts an intermediate acceptor of 1 carbon units during the?
During the synthesis of purines and pyrimidines.
Causes of folate deficiency?
- Inadequate intake
- Malabsorption
- Increased requirements
- Defective utilisation
- Hereditary
Folate deficiency caused by inadequate intake
Lack of fresh food; chronic alcoholism
Malabsorption causing folate deficiency
Small bowel disease (coeliac disease)
Increased requirements causing folate deficiency
Pregnancy and lactation, infancy, haemolytic anaemias; exfoliative skin disease; hyperthyroidism and malignancy
Defective utilisation causing folate deficiency
Inhibition of dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR; e.g. methotrexate, trimethoprim; pyrimethamine)
Hereditary cause of folate deficiency
Folate malabsorption/metabolic (enzyme) defects
