Folate deficiency overview
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Folate deficiency is the deficiency of folic acid, which is a necessary compound for the normal production of red blood cells. Folic acid is part of the vitamin B complex. The recommended daily amount of folate for adults is 400 micrograms (mcg). Adult women who are planning pregnancy or could become pregnant should be advised to get 400 to 800 mcg of folic acid a day. The deficiency of folic acid is associated with a type of anemia, characterized by enlarged blood corpuscles, called megaloblastic anemia.The anemia is thought to be due to problems in the synthesis of DNA precursors, specifically in the synthesis of thymine, which is required for normal erythropoesis which is dependent on products of the MTR reaction. Other cell lines such as white blood cells and platelets are also found to be low due to impaired division of the precursor cells. Bone marrow examination may show megaloblastic hemopoiesis. The anemia is easy to cure with folic acid supplementation.
Historical Perspective
Folate deficiency was first discovered by Lucy Wills, an English hematologist, in 1931. While conducting seminal work in India in the late 1920s and early 1930s on macrocytic anemia of pregnancy, she found that this nutrient was needed to prevent the anemia of pregnancy. Dr. Wills demonstrated that this condition could be reversed with brewer's yeast. It was in the later 1930’s that folate, the naturally occuring form of folic acid, was isolated from brewer's yeast and folic acid was identified in the pathogenesis of anemia in pregnant women.