Folic acid (Folate or Pteroylglutamic acid) is a water-soluble vitamin commonly found in green, leafy vegetables that is readily destroyed by both air and heat.
Folate is generally used when referring to protein-bound or conjugated forms of folic acid found in food. Pteroylglutamic acid is the chemical compound commonly used as a Folic acid supplement.
Functions of Folic acid:
- Precursor of tetrahydrofolic acid (THF), a carrier of methyl groups in trans-methylation reactions
- Involved in the synthesis of DNA and RNA
- Synthesis of purines, guanine, adenine, thymine and pyrimidines
- Needed for DNA replication and repair, maintenance of the genome and regulation of gene expression
- Plays a role in the biosynthesis of heme and hemoglobin
- Essential for the formation and maturation of red and white blood cells from bone marrow stem cells
- Helps convert homocysteine to methionine, ethanolamine to choline, histidine to glutamic acid and serine to glycine.
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