Folate

Folic acid
Skeletal formula
Clinical data
Pronunciation/ˈfoʊlɪk, ˈfɒlɪk/
Trade namesFolicet, Folvite
Other namesWills factor, FA, N-(4-{[(2-amino-4-oxo-1,4-dihydropteridin-6-yl)methyl]amino}benzoyl)-L-glutamic acid, pteroyl-L-glutamic acid, folacin, vitamin B9s formerly, vitamin Bc and vitamin M
AHFS/Drugs.comMonograph
MedlinePlusa682591
License data
Pregnancy
category
  • AU: A
Routes of
administration		By mouth, intramuscular, intravenous, subcutaneous
ATC code
Legal status
Legal status
  • AU: S4 (Prescription only) / S2
  • US: ℞-only / OTC
Pharmacokinetic data
Bioavailability50–100%
MetabolismLiver
ExcretionUrine
Identifiers
  • (2S)-2-[[4-[(2-Amino-4-oxo-1H-pteridin-6-yl)methylamino]benzoyl]amino]pentanedioic acid
CAS Number
PubChem CID
IUPHAR/BPS
DrugBank
ChemSpider
UNII
KEGG
ChEBI
ChEMBL
PDB ligand
Chemical and physical data
FormulaC19H19N7O6
Molar mass441.40 g·mol−1
3D model (JSmol)
Density1.6±0.1 g/cm3
Melting point250 °C (482 °F) (decomposition)
Solubility in water1.6mg/L (25 °C)
  • n1c2C(=O)NC(N)=Nc2ncc1CNc3ccc(cc3)C(=O)N[C@H](C(O)=O)CCC(O)=O
  • InChI=1S/C19H19N7O6/c20-19-25-15-14(17(30)26-19)23-11(8-22-15)7-21-10-3-1-9(2-4-10)16(29)24-12(18(31)32)5-6-13(27)28/h1-4,8,12,21H,5-7H2,(H,24,29)(H,27,28)(H,31,32)(H3,20,22,25,26,30)/t12-/m0/s1
  • Key:OVBPIULPVIDEAO-LBPRGKRZSA-N

Folate is a B vitamin, also called Bg or folacin. The man-made form is called folic acid. Folic acid is a dietary supplement which the body converts to folate.

Pregnancy (recommended)

Folic acid should be taken daily by women who are pregnant for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. This helps prevent neural tube defects happening during development. 400 micrograms (mcg) a day is sometimes written using the Greek symbol μ (400μg). The U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends 0.4mg of folic acid per day in pregnant women.

Women that have previously birthed a child with a neural defect should take 4mg a day instead. Diabetic women need 5mg of folic acid a day. Folate acid is in pregnancy category A in Australia and the America. Folic acid deficiency is common during pregnancy, and is recommended during pregnancy.

Deficiency

Folate deficiency can cause neural tube birth defects and a type of anemia called folate deficiency anemia, because of its role in red blood cell formation.

Taking too much folic acid can hide the symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency, if there is one. Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause damage to the nerves. This is a problem especially in older people because their need for some vitamins and nutrients is different.

Use

Folate is essential for the body to make DNA and RNA, and use the amino acids needed for cell division. It helps the body make healthy red blood cells. Folate reduces the risk (chances) that congenital neural tube defects, called birth defects form (for example spina bifida) during pregnancy. This vitamin is truly essential for life.

It is used as a medication to treat megaloblastic anemia in pregnancy.

Source

Folate is in leafy green vegetables (like broccoli, cabbage, kale) legumes and organ meats for example. When cooking, the advice is to use steaming or a microwave oven. This keeps more folate in the cooked foods.

The body cannot store folate long-term and excess (too much) folate is excreted in the urine, because it is a water-soluble vitamin. A healthy, balanced diet usually provides the recommended daily amount of folate. Adults need 200 mcg (micrograms) of folate a day.

Folate is found in many foods. Dietary sources of folate include:

Cereals fortified with folic acid (called fortified foods) are a source of folic acid.

References

  1. ↑ "Folate – Fact Sheet for Health Professionals". Office of Dietary Supplements, US National Institutes of Health. 30 November 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  2. ↑ Welch AD (1983). "Folic acid: discovery and the exciting first decade". Perspect. Biol. Med. 27 (1): 64–75. doi:10.1353/pbm.1983.0006. PMID 6359053. S2CID 31993927.
  3. 1 2 3 "Folic Acid". Drugs.com. American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. 23 December 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  4. ↑ "Folic Acid". The PubChem Project. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014.
  5. 1 2 "Folic Acid". ChemSrc. Archived from the original on 28 August 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  6. ↑ "MeSH Browser". meshb.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 2026-04-10.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Vitamins and minerals - B vitamins and folic acid". nhs.uk. 2017-10-23. Retrieved 2026-04-10.
  8. 1 2 "Vitamins, minerals and supplements in pregnancy". nhs.uk. 2020-12-02. Retrieved 2026-04-10.[permanent dead link]
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Folic acid pregnancy and breastfeeding warnings". drugs.com.
  10. ↑ "Knowledge and Use of Folic Acid by Women of Childbearing Age -- United States, 1995". www.cdc.gov. Retrieved 2026-04-10.
  11. ↑ Longmore, Murray (2014). Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine. Oxford Medical Handbooks. Ian B. Wilkinson, Andrew Baldwin, Elizabeth Wallin (9th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press, Incorporated. ISBN 978-0-19-960962-8.
  12. ↑ Centeno Tablante, Elizabeth; Pachón, Helena; Guetterman, Heather M; Finkelstein, Julia L (1 July 2019). "Fortification of wheat and maize flour with folic acid for population health outcomes". Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2019 (7) CD012150. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD012150.pub2. PMC 6599881. PMID 31257574.
  13. ↑ Nutrient Data Laboratory (2007). "USDA Table of Nutrient Retention Factors, Release 6" (PDF). USDA.
  14. ↑ O’connor, Anahad (2006-10-17). "The Claim: Microwave Ovens Kill Nutrients in Food". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-07-10. spinach retained nearly all its folate when cooked in a microwave, but lost about 77 percent when cooked on a stove
  15. ↑ McKillop DJ, Pentieva K, Daly D, McPartlin JM, Hughes J, Strain JJ, Scott JM, McNulty H (2002). "The effect of different cooking methods on folate retention in various foods that are amongst the major contributors to folate intake in the UK diet". The British Journal of Nutrition. 88 (6): 681–688. Bibcode:2002BrJN...88..681M. doi:10.1079/bjn2002733. PMID 12493090.