Folate

Folate (chemically known as pteroylglutamic acid—which is why it is commonly known as folacin or folate) is widely available in green leafy vegetables, liver, asparagus, lima beans, nuts, whole grain cereals and lentils. Moreover, many people may derive folate from bacteria in their systems in adequate quantities to meet their minimum requirements. The exception is in patients who have developed scurvy, because diets that are poor in vitamin C are also generally poor in folic acid as well.

More commonly, drugs interfere with the absorption or utilization of folic acid. This is true with several antibiotics, anti-cancer agents and anti-seizure drugs. The other common situation is in the pregnant woman who is rapidly depleting her own supplies of folic acid in order to supply this much-needed vitamin for her child’s growth. Her needs of folate increase to 2 times what she would normally use, and remain at 25% more than the normal requirement while breast feeding.