5-甲基四氢叶酸预防叶酸缺乏研究进展

Prevention of folate deficiency with 5-methyl-tetrahydrofolate

叶酸是一种人体自身无法合成必须靠外源补充获取的水溶性维生素。大量证据表明叶酸的缺乏将导致神经管缺陷、部分先天性畸形、痴呆症和某些类型的癌症。目前叶酸的主要补充形式为合成叶酸(folic acid,FA),但其过量补充将会增加自身和后代患某些疾病的潜在风险。因此,探讨新型补充方式对于人群叶酸补充具有重要意义。该文将从毒理学、生物利用度、维生素B12掩盖、叶酸代谢相关酶基因的单核苷酸多态性、强化效果等方面讨论叶酸新型补充形式——5-甲基四氢叶酸的研究进展和其替代化学合成叶酸的可行性。

Folate is a water-soluble vitamin that cannot be synthesized by the body itself and must be obtained by external supplementation.There is substantial evidence that folate deficiency causes neural tube defects,partial birth defects,dementia,and certain types of cancer.However,excessive supplementation of folic acid(FA),the main form of supplementation at present,will increase the potential risk of certain diseases for oneself and future generations.Therefore,it is of great significance to explore new supplementation methods for folate supplementation in the population.This paper will discuss the progress of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate(5-MTHF)supplementation and the feasibility of replacing the chemical folic acid in terms of toxicology,bioavailability,vitamin B12 coverup,single nucleotide polymorphisms of folate metabolism-related enzyme genes,and fortification effect.