Study on a serum level folate and dietary intake of folate in Japanese female college students

Abstract

Folic acid is a water soluble B vitamin which functions in single-carbon transfer reactions. The folate difining leads to the abnormal hematological changes such as megaloblastic anemia. Also the evidence is strong that the sick of having a fetus with NTD (Nutral Tube Defts) deseases with increasing intake of folate during gestation. However the folate intake of many young women is not sufficient to prevent the induction of NTD in Japan. Therefore aimed to evaluate the relationship between the folate intake and serum acid of folate in 17 young women, in Japan. The dietary folate intake was 208±104 μg/day for the annual average, although the RDA(Recommended Dietary Allowance) for adults in 240 μg/day of diet folates equivalunts. The serum concentration in folic acid 2.3±1.0 ng/ml for the annual average, which was below the lower limit of the normal range. The high end of serum folate can be partly explained by dieting folate intake. Therefore it is recommended that much more green and yellow vegetable should be intaken in young women.