Folic acid, also known as vitamin B9 or folate, is an essential B vitamin that must be obtained through diet as the body cannot produce it. It is commonly found in leafy vegetables, pasta, bread, and cereal. Folic acid is important for making DNA, RNA, and metabolizing amino acids required for cell division. It acts as a carrier of single carbon units that are important for the synthesis of nucleotides and amino acids. Deficiency can cause megaloblastic anemia and neural tube defects in babies if deficiency occurs during pregnancy.

1. Folic Acid
and
Derivatives
Muhammad Umer Zafar (2191)
Turan Kaya (2148)

2. Folic Acid
Folic acid, is also known as Vitamin B9 or
Folate, it is one of the B vitamins. Which
makes it essential and it must be
consumed in diet as the body cannot
produce it.
It is also used as a supplement
– during pregnancy to prevent neural tube
defects (NTDs)
– and to treat anaemia and folic acid deficiency
Muhammad and Turan

3. Water soluble Vitamins
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4. Folic Acid
Sources: Leafy vegetables, pasta, bread,
cereal, liver
 Deficiency disease: Megaloblastic anemia and
Deficiency during pregnancy is associated with
birth defects, such as neural tube defects
 Over dose: May mask symptoms of vitamin
B12 deficiency
Muhammad and Turan

5. Folate
 Folate is essential for the body to
make DNA, RNA, and metabolise amino
acids which are required for cell division.
Making red blood cell formation is the
primary/normal function of Folic acid.
Muhammad and Turan

6. Folic Acid structure
Amino group
Carboxyl group
Hydroxyl group
C19H19N7O6
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7. Folic Acid Derivatives
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Pteroyl glutamate, is composed of 3 parts:
Pteridine Ring
P-aminobenzoic acid
Glutamic Acid

8. Folic Acid Derivatives
Muhammad and Turan
All the biological functions of folic acid are
performed by tetrahydrofolate and other
derivatives. Their biological availability to the
body depends upon dihydrofolate
reductase action in the liver.

9. Folic Acid Derivatives
Muhammad and Turan
Tetrahydrofolate gets reduced
by dihydrofolate reductase, which is NADPH
dependant enzyme.
A tetrahydro- compound is assumed to be
substituted in the 5, 6, 7 and 8 positions, and
a dihydro- compound is assumed to be
substituted in the 7 and 8 positions, unless
otherwise indicated.

10. Folic Acid Derivatives
Muhammad and Turan
Tetrahydrofolic acid is a cofactor in many
reactions, especially in the metabolism
of amino acids and nucleic acids.
 It acts as a donor of a group with one carbon
atom. It gets this carbon atom by
sequestering formaldehyde produced in other
processes.
Main role is to carry one carbon fragments

11. One-Carbon Fragments
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One carbon fragments are produced in the
catabolism of some AAs- serine, glycine,
histidine, and tryptophan.
These are used in De novo synthesis of
purine nucleotides, methionine, serine,
glycine, choline, homocystiene, dTMP.
TMP and dUMP-further in DNA synthesis
Purine nucelotides- further in RNA and DNA
synthesis

12. Sources and uses of 1 C
substituted folates
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13. 1 C units on THF
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14. Deficiency
Muhammad and Turan
Deficiency is not
common due to
addition of Folic
acid in grain
products, in
majority
of the countries.
Dietary Intake (10-
20 μg/day)

15. Muhammad and Turan