Hostname: page-component-758b78586c-qzq9q Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2023-11-28T18:59:48.753Z Has data issue: false Feature Flags: { "corePageComponentGetUserInfoFromSharedSession": true, "coreDisableEcommerce": false, "useRatesEcommerce": true } hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Folate bioavailability: UK Food Standards Agency workshop report

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

Peter Sanderson ,
Helene McNulty ,
Pierpaolo Mastroiacovo ,
Ian F. W. McDowell ,
Alida Melse-Boonstra ,
Paul M. Finglas  and
Jess F. Gregory III
Peter Sanderson*
Affiliation:
Nutrition Division, Food Standards Agency, Aviation House, 125 Kingsway, London WC2 6NH, UK
Helene McNulty
Affiliation:
School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster, Coleraine, UK
Pierpaolo Mastroiacovo
Affiliation:
Department of Paediatrics and Childhood Neuroscience, Catholic University and International Centre on Birth Defects, Rome, Italy
Ian F. W. McDowell
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Biochemistry, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, UK
Alida Melse-Boonstra
Affiliation:
Division of Human Nutrition and Epidemiology, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Paul M. Finglas
Affiliation:
Institute of Food Research, Norwich, UK
Jess F. Gregory III
Affiliation:
Food Science and Human Nutrition Department, University of Florida, Gainesville FL, USA
*
*Corresponding author: Dr Peter Sanderson, fax +44 20 7276 8906, email peter.sanderson@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not possible as this article does not have html content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The UK Food Standards Agency convened a group of expert scientists to review current research investigating folate bioavailability. The workshop aimed to overview current research and establish priorities for future research. Discrepancies were observed in the evidence base for folate bioavailability, especially with regard to the relative bioavailability of natural folates compared with folic acid. A substantial body of evidence shows folic acid to have superior bioavailability relative to food folates; however, the exact relative bioavailability still needs to be determined, and in particular with regard to mixed diets. The bioavailability of folate in a mixed diet is probably not a weighted average of that in the various foods consumed; thus the workshop considered that assessment of folate bioavailability of whole diets should be a high priority for future research.

Keywords

Folate bioavailabilityFolic acid supplementationFood Standards Agency workshopNutrition research
Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 90 , Issue 2 , August 2003 , pp. 473 - 479
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2003

References

Appel, LJ, Miller, ER III & Jee, SH (2000) Effect of dietary patterns on serum homocysteine: results of a randomized, controlled feeding study. Circulation 102, 852–857.Google Scholar
Ashfield-Watt, PA, Pullin, CH & Whiting, JM (2002) Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase 677C- - ->T genotype modulates homocysteine responses to a folate-rich diet or a low-dose folic acid supplement: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr 76, 180–186.T+genotype+modulates+homocysteine+responses+to+a+folate-rich+diet+or+a+low-dose+folic+acid+supplement:+a+randomized+controlled+trial.+Am+J+Clin+Nutr+76,+180–186.>Google Scholar
Bhandari, SD & Gregory, JF III (1992) Folic acid, 5-methyl-tetrahydrofolate and 5-formyl-tetrahydrofolate exhibit equivalent intestinal absorption, metabolism and in vivo kinetics in rats. J Nutr 122, 1847–1854.Google Scholar
Blount, CB, Mack, MM, Wehr, CM et al. (1997) Folate deficiency causes uracil misincorporation into human DNA and chromosome breakage: implications for cancer and neuronal damage. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 94, 3290–3295.Google Scholar
Boddie, AM, Dedlow, ER, Nackashi, JA et al. (2000) Folate absorption in women with a history of neural tube defect-affected pregnancy. Am J Clin Nutr 72, 154–158.Google Scholar
Botto, LD & Yang, Q (2000) 5,10-Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene variants and congenital abnormalities: a HuGE review. Am J Epidemiol 151, 862–877.Google Scholar
Boushey, CJ, Beresford, SA, Omenn, GS & Motulsky, AG (1995) A quantitative assessment of plasma homocysteine as a risk factor for vascular disease – probable benefits of increasing folic acid intakes. JAMA 274, 1049–1057.Google Scholar
Bronner, F (1993) Nutrient bioavailability, with special reference to calcium. J Nutr 123, 797–802.Google Scholar
Castenmiller, JJ, Van de Poll, CJ, West, CE, Brouwer, IA, Thomas, CM & van Dusseldorp, M (2000) Bioavailability of folate from processed spinach in humans. Effect of food matrix and interaction with carotenoids. Ann Nutr Metab 44, 163–169.Google Scholar
Davis, BA, Bailey, LB, Gregory, JF III, Toth, JP, Dean, J & Stevenson, RE (1995) Folic acid absorption in women with a history of pregnancy with neural tube defect. Am J Clin Nutr 62, 782–784.Google Scholar
Devlin, AM, Ling, EH & Peerson, JM (2000) Glutamate carboxypeptidase II: a polymorphism associated with lower levels of serum folate and hyperhomocysteinemia. Hum Mol Genet 9, 2837–2844.Google Scholar
Engbersen, AM, Franken, DG, Boers, GH, Stevens, EM, Trijbels, FJ & Blom, HJ (1995) Thermolabile 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase as a cause of mild hyperhomocysteinemia. Am J Hum Genet 56, 142–150.Google Scholar
Gregory, JF III (1997) Bioavailability of folate. Eur J Clin Nutr 51, Suppl. 1, S54–S59.Google Scholar
Gregory, JF III (2001) Case study: folate bioavailability. J Nutr 131, 1376S–1382S.Google Scholar
Homocysteine Lowering Trialists’ Collaboration (1998) Lowering blood homocysteine with folic acid based supplements: meta-analysis of randomised trials. Br Med J 316, 894–898.Google Scholar
Homocysteine Studies Collaboration (2002) Homocysteine and risk of ischemic heart disease and stroke: a meta-analysis. JAMA 288, 2015–2022.Google Scholar
Jacques, PF, Kalmbach, R, Bagley, PJ et al. (2002) The relationship between riboflavin and plasma total homocysteine in the Framingham Offspring cohort is influenced by folate status and the C677T transition in the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene. J Nutr 132, 283–288.Google Scholar
Jones, ML & Nixon, PF (2002) Tetrahydrofolates are greatly stabilized by binding to bovine milk folate-binding protein. J Nutr 132, 2690–2694.Google Scholar
Lievers, KJA, Kluijtmans, LAJ, Boers, GHJ et al. (2002) Influence of a glutamate carboxypeptidase II (GCPII) polymorphism (1561C→T) on plasma homocysteine, folate and vitamin B12 levels and its relationship to cardiovascular disease risk. Atherosclerosis 164, 269–273.Google Scholar
McKillop, D, Pentieva, K & Daly, D et al. (2002) The effect of different cooking methods on folate retention in various foods which are amongst the major contributors to folate intake in the UK diet. Br J Nutr 88, 681–688.Google Scholar
Mckillop, D, Pentieva, K, Scott, JM et al. (2003) Protocol for the production of concentrated extracts of food folate for use in human bioavailability studies. J Agric Food Chem,Google Scholar
McKinley, MC, McNulty, H, McPartlin, J et al. (2001) Low-dose vitamin B-6 lowers fasting plasma homocysteine levels in healthy elderly persons who are folate and riboflavin replete. Am J Clin Nutr 73, 759–764.Google Scholar
McNulty, H, McKinley, MC, Wilson, B et al. (2002) Impaired functioning of thermolabile methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase is dependent on riboflavin status: implications for riboflavin requirements. Am J Clin Nutr 76, 436–441.Google Scholar
Medical Research Council Vitamin Study Research Group (1991) Prevention of neural tube defects: results of the Medical Research Council Vitamin Study. Lancet 338, 131–137.Google Scholar
Mennen, LI, de Courcy, GP, Guilland, JC et al. (2002) Homocysteine, cardiovascular disease risk factors, and habitual diet in the French Supplementation with Antioxidant Vitamins and Minerals Study. Am J Clin Nutr 76, 1279–1289.Google Scholar
Mills, JL, McPartlin, JM, Kirke, PN et al. (1995) Homocysteine metabolism in pregnancies complicated by neural-tube defects. Lancet 345, 149–151.Google Scholar
Moat, SJ, Ashfield-Watt, PA, Powers, HJ, Newcombe, RG & McDowell, IF (2003) Effect of riboflavin status on the homocysteine-lowering effect of folate in relation to the MTHFR (C677T) genotye. Clin Chem 49, 295–302.Google Scholar
Neuhouser, ML, Beresford, SA, Hickok, DE & Monsen, ER (1998) Absorption of dietary and supplemental folate in women with prior pregnancies with neural tube defects and controls. J Am Coll Nutr 17, 625–630.Google Scholar
Pentieva, K, Kidd, JA, McKillop, DJ, Strain, JJ, Scott, JM & McNulty, H (2002) Folate analysis of composite meals. Proc Nutr Soc 61, 92A.Google Scholar
Perry, J (1971) Folate analogues in normal mixed diets. Br J Haematol 21, 435–441.Google Scholar
Pfeiffer, CM, Rogers, LM, Bailey, LB & Gregory, JF III (1997) Absorption of folate from fortified cereal-grain products and of supplemental folate consumed with or without food determined by using a dual-label stable-isotope protocol. Am J Clin Nutr 66, 1388–1397.Google Scholar
Pullin, CH, Ashfield-Watt, PA, Burr, ML et al. (2001) Optimization of dietary folate or low-dose folic acid supplements lower homocysteine but do not enhance endothelial function in healthy adults, irrespective of the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (C677T) genotype. J Am Coll Cardiol 38, 1799–1805.Google Scholar
Quinlivan, EP, McPartlin, J, McNulty, H et al. (2002) Importance of both folic acid and vitamin B12 in reduction of risk of vascular disease. Lancet 359, 227–228.Google Scholar
Rimm, EB, Willett, WC, Hu, FB et al. (1998) Folate and vitamin B6 from diet and supplements in relation to risk of coronary heart disease among women. JAMA 279, 359–364.Google Scholar
Sauberlich, HE, Kretsch, MJ, Skala, JH, Johnson, HL & Taylor, PC (1987) Folate requirement and metabolism in nonpregnant women. Am J Clin Nutr 46, 1016–1028.Google Scholar
Scott, JM & Weir, DG (1976) Folate composition, synthesis and function in natural materials. Clin Haematol 5, 547–568.Google Scholar
Seyoum, E & Selhub, J (1998) Properties of food folates determined by stability and susceptibility to intestinal pteroylpolyglutamate hydrolase action. J Nutr 128, 1956–1960.Google Scholar
Shane, B (1995) Folate chemistry and metabolism. In Folate in Health and Disease. pp. 1–22. [Bailey, LB, editor]. New York, NY: Marcel Dekker.Google Scholar
Tamura, T & Stokstad, EL (1973) The availability of food folate in man. Br J Haematol 25, 513–532.Google Scholar
van het Hof, KH, Tijburg, LB, Pietrzik, K & Weststrate, JA (1999) Influence of feeding different vegetables on plasma levels of carotenoids, folate and vitamin C. Effect of disruption of the vegetable matrix. Br J Nutr 82, 203–212.Google Scholar
Van Lieshout, M, West, CE & Van Breemen, RB (2003) Isotopic tracer techniques for studying the bioavailability and bioefficacy of dietary carotenoids, particularly beta-carotene, in humans: a review. Am J Clin Nutr 77, 12–28.Google Scholar
Van Oort, FV, Melse-Boonstra, A & Brouwer, IA (2003) Folic acid and reduction of plasma homocysteine concentrations in older adults: a dose-response study. Am J Clin Nutr 77, 1318–1323.Google Scholar
Vargas-Martinez, C, Ordovas, JM, Wilson, PW & Selhub, J (2002) The glutamate carboxypeptidase gene II (C>T) polymorphism does not affect folate status in the Framingham Offspring cohort. J Nutr 132, 1176–1179.T)+polymorphism+does+not+affect+folate+status+in+the+Framingham+Offspring+cohort.+J+Nutr+132,+1176–1179.>Google Scholar
Verhoef, P, Pasman, WJ, Van Vliet, T, Urgert, R & Katan, MB (2002) Contribution of caffeine to the homocysteine-raising effect of coffee: a randomized controlled trial in humans. Am J Clin Nutr 76, 1244–1248.Google Scholar
Ward, M, McNulty, H, McPartlin, J, Strain, JJ, Weir, DG & Scott, JM (1997) Plasma homocysteine, a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, is lowered by physiological doses of folic acid. QJM 90, 519–524.Google Scholar
Ward, M, Strain, JJ, McPartlin, J, Scott, JM, McNulty, H et al. (2002) Plasma homocysteine is a reliable funtional indicator of folate status. Proc Nutr Soc 61,Google Scholar
Wei, MM, Bailey, LB, Toth, JP & Gregory, JF III (1996) Bioavailability for humans of deuterium-labeled monoglutamyl and polyglutamyl folates is affected by selected foods. J Nutr 126, 3100–3108.Google Scholar
Wei, MM & Gregory, JF III (1998) Organic Acids in Selected Foods Inhibit Intestinal Brush Border Pteroylpolyglutamate Hydrolase in Vitro: Potential Mechanism Affecting the Bioavailability of Dietary Polyglutamyl Folate. J Agric Food Chem 46, 211–219.Google Scholar
Wright, AJA, Finglas, PM, Dainty, JR et al. (2003) Single oral doses of 13C forms of pteroylmonoglutamic acid and 5-formyltetrahydrofolic acid elicit difference sin short-term kinetics of labelled and unlabelled folates in plasma: potential problems in interpretation of folate bioavailability studies. Br J Nutr 90, 1–10.Google Scholar
Yamada, K, Chen, Z, Rozen, R & Matthews, RG (2001) Effects of common polymorphisms on the properties of recombinant human methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 98, 14853–14858.Google Scholar