Folate (Folic Acid)
Requirements:
- RDA:
400 mcg. for adults
800 mcg. for pregnancy
500 mcg. for lactation
Daily Optimal Intake:
Supplement Forms:
- Individual or part of a multivitamin formula
Labs:
- FIGLU (Formimino Glutamic Acid Test)
- Hypersegmented neutrophils
- Macrocytic red blood cells
- Serum folate (RIA)
Food Sources:
- Beef liver 3 oz. (123 mcg.)
- Beets 1/2 cup (67 mcg.)
- Black-eyed peas 1/2 cup (100 mcg.)
- Brewer's yeast 1 Tbl. (313 mcg.)
- Broccoli 1/2 cup (36 mcg.)
- Brussels sprouts 4 (39 mcg.)
- Cantaloupe 1/2 med. (80 mcg.)
- Chicken liver 3 oz. (645 mcg.)
- Egg yolk 1 med. (75 mcg.)
- Orange juice 1 cup (135 mcg.)
- Romaine lettuce 1 cup (100 mcg.)
- Wheat bran 1 oz. (61 mcg.)
Signs and Symptoms of Deficiency:
- Cellular nuclear morphology changes affecting epithelial cells
of:
Stomach
Vagina
GI-tract disorders
Glossitis
Megaloblastic anemia
Poor growth
Adverse Effects and Toxicity:
- Folate therapy may interfere with the laboratory diagnosis of
pernicious anemia
- Large doses may promote seizures in preexisting epilepsy
Drug/Nutrient Interactions:
- Anticonvulsant drugs can cause deficiency of folate
- Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid, ASA) may cause deficiency of folate
- BCP (birth control pill) interferes with folate
- Folate therapy may interfere with anticonvulsant drugs, i.e.
dilantin
- Folate therapy may interfere with aminopterin or
methotrexate
- Litium carbonate may cause folate deficiency
Biochemical Functions:
- Inhibitor of vascular damage caused by bovine xanthine oxidase
(from homogenized milk)
- Involved in central nervous system function
- Involved in homocysteine metabolism
- Involved in immune function
- Red and white blood cells formation and maturation
- Single carbon moiety in formation of heme
- Synthesis of purines, guanine, adenine, pyrimadine, and
thymine therefore needed for normal synthesis of DNA and RNA
- Vasodilator
Clinical Indications:
Copyright 1998 - 2008 by L. Vicky Crouse, ND and James S. Reiley, ND. All rights reserved (ISSN 1527-0661).