Library · Molecule
Folate
Make it clearer
Folate, also called vitamin B9, is not a single molecule but a group of water-soluble compounds, meaning they dissolve in water, and they are essential for making DNA. Folic acid is its synthetic version, the one made in the laboratory.
Inside the body, folate is converted to tetrahydrofolic acid, and in that form it takes part in two kinds of reactions: transfer reactions, in which small chemical groups are passed from one molecule to another, and methylation reactions, in which the group being passed is called a methyl group. It is like a hand passing small parts to the line where the letters of DNA are assembled. Those letters are the nitrogenous bases, the building blocks used to write DNA and its close relative, RNA.
The human body cannot make folate. That is why it has to come from food, and regularly: it is found in leafy green vegetables such as spinach, and in liver, eggs and milk.
In brief
Folate, or vitamin B9, is a group of water-soluble compounds essential for making DNA; folic acid is its synthetic form.
It is converted to tetrahydrofolic acid, which takes part in transfer and methylation reactions that are important for synthesizing the nitrogenous bases of DNA and RNA.
A hand passing small parts to the line where the letters of DNA are assembled.
Our bodies cannot make it, so it must be consumed regularly: it is found in leafy green vegetables such as spinach, and in liver, eggs and milk.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingFolic Acid, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
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