Lecture 2 - Folate Flashcards
what is vitamin is folate
B9
what are food sources of folate
- green leafy vegetables
- orange juice
- peanuts
- legumes and beans
- bread (mandatory fortified)
- range of breakfast cereals (fortified)
- liver
why is liver such an important source of folate
mammals store 50% of their folate in their liver, so consuming liver from animals is a useful source
what part of the folate molecule can humans not manufacture and what does this mean
the middle part
so therefore folate is essential in the diet
what is folic acid
being added when the food is fortified
what is food folate
naturally present in food
how is food folate chemical different to folic acid
methyl group is on food folate that isn’t on folic acid
where is folic acid usually found
supplements and food fortification
what is the name of the form of most food folate
methyltetrahydrofolate
what is meant by folic acid is a “pre vitamin”
needs to be reduced to active form of folate
what is the active form of folate
tetrahydrofolate
folic acid is in what form and why does this mean it is good to be used in fortification
fully oxidised form, it is quite stable and that is why it is used in fortification
is food folate polyglutamate or monoglutamate
polyglutamate
is folic acid polyglutamate or monoglutamate
monoglutamate
when are polyglutamates removed in absorption of folate
when it has entered the enterocyte
what helps more food folate into the cell
reduced folate carrier
what helps move folic acid into the cell
folate receptor
once both forms of folate are in the cell, what happens to keep them in the cell
both forms are polyglutamated
what is DHFR (dihydrofolate reductase) do
add on hydrogens (reduction reaction) to get folate to the active form
if converting from folic acid to the active form what has changed
hydrogens have been added