Acid, folic

Acid, folic
One of the B vitamins that is a key factor in the synthesis (the making) of nucleic acid (DNA and RNA). A deficiency of folic acid after birth causes a kind of anemia, namely, megaloblastic anemia in which there is a paucity of red blood cells and those that are made are unusually large and immature (so-called blast cells). Lack of adequate folic acid during pregnancy was first found to increase the risk for the baby to have a birth defect involving the spinal cord and brain — a neural tube defect such as spina bifida (meningomyelocele) or anencephaly. The association was then investigated between the mother's use of drugs that act as folic acid antagonists in the first trimester of pregnancy and the birth of a child with a congenital malformation (birth defect). It was found that folic acid antagonists increased the risk not only of neural tube defects but also of congenital heart malformations, cleft lip and palate , and urinary tract defects. Folic acid. it now is clear, reduces the risks for a remarkably broad gamut of birth defects. In order for folic acid to be effective in preventing these birth defects, the vitamin must be consumed every day beginning before conception and continuing through the first three months of pregnancy. Educating women (and their doctors) about the importance of folic acid is going to require a major effort. According to one study, only 10% of women know that folic acid should be taken before pregnancy.

Medical dictionary. 2011.

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  • Folic acid — Folic acid …   Wikipedia

  • acid — ACÍD, Ă, acizi, de, s.m., adj. 1. s.m. Substanţă chimică, cu gust acru şi miros înţepător, care înroşeste hârtia albastră de turnesol şi care, în combinaţie cu o bază, formează o sare. 2. adj. (Adesea fig.) Care are proprietăţile unui acid (1),… …   Dicționar Român

  • folic — FÓLIC adj. acid folic = principiu antianemic care se găseşte în frunzele de spanac, în ficat şi în numeroase alimente. (< fr. folique) Trimis de raduborza, 15.09.2007. Sursa: MDN …   Dicționar Român

  • acid — acidly, adv. acidness, n. /as id/, n. 1. Chem. a compound usually having a sour taste and capable of neutralizing alkalis and reddening blue litmus paper, containing hydrogen that can be replaced by a metal or an electropositive group to form a… …   Universalium

  • folic acid — folic acid. См. фолиевая кислота. (Источник: «Англо русский толковый словарь генетических терминов». Арефьев В.А., Лисовенко Л.А., Москва: Изд во ВНИРО, 1995 г.) …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

  • folic acid — ► NOUN ▪ a vitamin of the B complex found especially in leafy green vegetables, liver, and kidney. DERIVATIVES folate noun. ORIGIN from Latin folium leaf …   English terms dictionary

  • folic acid — [fō′lik] n. [< L folium, a leaf (see FOLIATE) + IC] a crystalline substance, C19H19N7O6, found in green leaves and in certain other plant and animal tissues, exhibiting vitamin B activity: used in medicine, esp. for treating certain anemias …   English World dictionary

  • folic — (adj.) in reference to type of acid, 1941, coined from L. folium leaf (see FOLIO (Cf. folio)) + IC (Cf. ic). So called for its abundance in green leaves, such as those of spinach …   Etymology dictionary

  • Folic acid — One of the B vitamins that is a key factor in the synthesis (the making) of nucleic acid (DNA and RNA). A deficiency of folic acid after birth causes a kind of anemia, namely, megaloblastic anemia in which there is a paucity of red blood cells… …   Medical dictionary

  • folic acid — Biochem. a water soluble vitamin that is converted to a coenzyme essential to purine and thymine biosynthesis: deficiency causes a form of anemia. [1940 45] * * * or folate Organic compound essential to animal growth and health and needed by… …   Universalium

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