Vitamin B9 - Sources, RDA, Functions, Uses, Deficiency, Disadvantages.

Vitamins B9 / Vitamins-M (Folic Acid)

Structure of Vitamin B9

• Also called Pteroylglutanic acid

Functions:

• Functions of Folic acid are to carry one carbon moiety. It transfer one carbon in different synthetic reactions e.g; muleric acid bases synthesis.

Sources:

• Green Leafy vegetales, this word folic acid is drived from foalate mean leaves

• other is liver, kidney, wheat, freash beans, lentils, fruits, egg yolk.

Follate deficiency:

1    use of anti follate drugs (inhabit follate)
e.g;
i.    Velporic acid (anti capileptic) used for treatment of epilepsy phelytoin (Antiepileptic)the term Anti follate is specially allpied for those drugs which synthesis / metabolism of folic acid.
ii.    sulphur drug or sulpfonamide (Anti-Biotic) include septran. This is inhibiting dihydropteroatesynthetase enzyme and cause deficiency of folic acid.As folic acid is used by micro-organism as a food so if it in body folic is not available than they will be dead. Thus cure the disease. The microorganism can made folic acid itself while in human mostly cant able to prepare folic acid, usually prefer supplements.
iii.    trimethoprim: this is DHFR inhibitor this is also Anti-Biotic
iv.    Methotrexate: this is also DHFR inhibitor. This is Anti-cancer drug
v.    Pyrimethamine: is Antimalarial drug

2    Due to some mal-absorption from GIT:
e.g; Spru (Mal- Absorptive )
3    When there is increase need e.g; in Infancy and in Pregnancy

ROLE of Folic Acid:

1    It transfer one carbon moiety. This transfer result is formation of RNA, DNA and amino acid.
When folic acid specific form is not present then homocystin increase Homocyctin when increase in body it cause endothelium to damage which result in different Cardio-Vascular diseases
Vitamins B12 deficiency cause folic acid trap
2    it converd.UMP (deoxyuridinemoniphosphate)
this is require for DNA synthesis. DNA can’t be recycle it require new genome while RNA recycle
Deficiency leads to macrocytic anemia / magaloblastic anemia
Folic acid makes the symptoms of Vitamins-B12
3    Folic acid should not be given 1mg as 1000µg due to masking to Vitamins B12 Deficiency  Symptoms

RDA:

400µg – 500 µg  or 0.4mg – 0.5mg

Importance:

• Use in cell division.

• Folic acid deficiency  cause neural tube defects NTD’s these are resulting in the abnormality in the formation of spine, skull and brain e.g; Spinabifida: faulty formation of Bony encasement formation of the Spinal Cord.

•           Deficiency during pregnancy leads to abnormality in fetus

•           To prevents NTD’d, it is recommended that before conception, the women should use  400 µg of folic acid daily and in pregnancy the amount     will be increase 600µg daily.

•          In first trimester of pregnancy in which organogenesis occur folic acid     must be taken in proper range. 

Figlou Test: 

test to check the folic acid deficiency.