biochemical assessment of water- soluble vitamins;
Folate;
Folate is a generally term as vitamin B9 or petrol glutamic acid, the active from of which is known as levamisole acid or methyl tetrahydro folate. It is naturally present in many food and is also sold as supplement .
Folic acid is essential in the formation of healthy blood cells and nucleic acid along with role in protein metabolism. Folic acid is also involved in the catabolism of homocysteine ; the elevated level of which exert harmful effect on the body.
Adequate folic acid consumption during pregnancy reduce the chance of neural tube defects, spina bifida and macrocytic anemia.
Deficiency of folate;
The primary reason for folate deficiency is inadequate dietary intake. Moreover, number of gastrointestinal diseases can result in folate deficiency.
Folate deficiency result in to megaloblastic anemia, a state in which fewer but enlarged red blood cells are produced. These cells are oval-shaped, not round and carry a shorter life span than normal red blood cells.
Measurements of folate status;
To get an estimate of folate concentration in blood, folate levels of either RBC or serum are tested; low levels being indicative of deficiency. Serum folate fluctuates on daily basis depending upon dietary intake and shows the absorbed dietary folate concentration.
Moreover, it only provides information about current folate intake but does not represent the tissue store; for which RBCs folate concertation is observed. Reference value for hematocrit, red cell count, mean corpuscular volume(MCV) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH)are used to confirm either of the folate, vitamin B12 and iron deficiency anemia .
Deficiency of these nutrient result in the production of abnormally large (folate and vitamin B12 ) or small RBCs (iron deficiency of anemia) . Plasma homocysteine (tHcy) level may also be checked because deficiency of folate and vitamin B12 result in its increase. However, these testes (except serum and RBC folate) are seldom performed because they indicate both folate and vitamin B12 deficiencies.
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