Folic Acid is part of a group of B vitamins found in our natural environment. Folic acid is also known as folate and is sometimes called Vitamin Bc. Its found in leafy green vegetables, like spinach, kale and beet greens. You can also find folic acid in bananas, citrus, eggs, milk, oats, soy products, wheat and roasted nuts amongst other foods.
Folic Acid carries out many functions in the body. It helps in the formation of nucleic acid which is essential for growth and reproduction. It also is used in stimulating the production of hydrochloric acid which the stomach uses in digestion of foods. Its involved in the sysnthesis of purines, serines and glycine and is necessary for red blood cell formation.
Folic Acid is popular primarily for its benefits to unborn children. Women who take folic acid while pregnant or who could become pregnant have a lower risk of giving birth to children with birth defects, preemies, and low birth weight babies.
It is somewhat easy to destroy folic acid in your food by accident. Folic Acid can be destroyed by processing or cooking your foods. It can leak into your cooking water, which is then thrown out. Also folic acid can be unstable when exposed to oxygen at high temperatures.
Folic acid’s molecular formula is C19H19N7O6. In other words its composed of Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen and Oxygen.
The chemical names of folic acid are N-[4 (2-Amino-4-hydroxypteridin-6-ylmethylamino) benzoyl] -L (+) -glutamic acid, N-{4-[[(2-Amino-1,4-dihihydro-4-oxo-6-pteridinyl) methyl]amino]benzoyl}-L-glutamic acid, and N-{p-[[2-amino-4-hydroxy-6-pteridinyl)methyl] amino]benzoyl}-glutamic acid. If you didn’t catch all that its okay because you can still get folic acid in the store by just using its common names.
In its pure form folic acid is a yellow or orange brown crystalline powder. You can easily disolve it in tap water to take if you dislike swallowing pills or chewing them. On a side note its also soluble in alkali, hydroxides and carbonates. You cannot dissolve it in alcohol, acetone, chloreform and ether, so I don’t recommend you try.
This vitamin is easily and quickly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract after eating it. Folic acid in your blood reaches peak levels about half and hour to an hour after eating.
Folic acid is usually taken in foods, pills or in the form of folate sodium injections with a strength equivalent to 5mg/mL of folic acid. Its considered relatively non-toxic, but there have been recorded cases of allergic reactions. Symptoms of reaction are shock, nausea, vomiting, rash, erythem, and itchiness.
Historically folic acid was first isolated by Doctor Mitchell and co-workers in nineteen forty one.
Conditions that can lead to a folic acid deficiency are alcoholism, poor diet, anemia, pregnancy, lactation, and various gastrointestinal or kidney or liver disorders.
In healthy adults the recommended daily value of folic acid is around four hundred micrograms. For women who are pregnant or lactating the recommended daily value is between eight hundred and one thousand micrograms. Be sure to ask your doctor about getting a more accurate dosage amount of folic acid.
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Author Vincent Platania represents the Rawleigh Products.W.T. Rawleigh founded Rawleigh Products in the late 1800s to create a line of products that possessed both strength and quality. Visit http://www.rawleigh-products.com
Structure of Folic Acid
