Health and Fitness

The pharmaceutical preparation of folates is called folic acid. It is alternatively known as folacin. Folic acid plays a vital role in the production of nucleic acid which makes the chromosome. It is also required by the body to help in the development of blood cells in bone marrow. Folates are found in two different forms in foods, they are free folates and bound folates. The free folates are easily absorbed in the body from the small intestine while regarding the availability of the bound folates, it is uncertain.

Dietary sources

The name is derived from the Latin ‘folia’ meaning leaf, so the leafy vegetables are obviously a rich source of folates. However, other sources like meat, liver, eggs, milk and other dairy products, cereals and fruits are equally good sources of it.

Deficiency disorders

Overcooking generally destroys folates present in the foods leading to folate deficiency. It can also occur from a poor diet intake. During pregnancy and lactation the requirement increases and can cause megaloblastic anemia, glossitis, cheilosis, and some other disorders like diarrhea, flatulence and distention. Severe folate deficiency can cause infertility, abortions and birth defects in the fetus.

Requirement

Body storage of folates is not large. It is required largely in the growing children and during pregnancy. It reduces the chance of low birth weight babies. Daily recommended doses are

Vitamin B12 has a complex structure and the compound is more of an organo- metallic one. The therapeutic form of the vitamin B12 is cyanocobalomine. The vitamin along with folate helps in the synthesis of DNA. As a result the deficiency of either of these vitamins causes megaloblastosis. However, vitamin B12 performs a separate function of synthesizing fatty acids in myelin, without using folate.

Dietary sources

Liver, meat, kidney, fish, eggs, cheese and milk are good sources of vitamin B12. Foods of vegetable origin do not contain vitamin B12. It is also synthesized in the colon by the bacteria present in the intestine. The liver stores sufficient amount of this vitamin. Vitamin B12 is relatively heat stable.

 Deficiency disorders

As liver is the main storage site of the vitamin B12, the body can supply sufficient amount of the vitamin for 1 to 3 years. Liver can store about 2 mg of the vitamin and another 2 mg is stored in other parts of the body. Due to this reserve the deficiency diseases are rarely seen. Megaloblastic anemia or pernicious anemia, infertility problems, and demyelinating neurological lesions in the spinal cord are disorders that occur due to the deficiency of vitamin B12. Generally the dietary deficiency of this vitamin is found among those who are strictly dependent on vegetarian diets and do not eat any animal products.

Daily recommended allowance