It’s been years since our first (and, until now, only) vitamin-centric episode on scurvy, and we’re thrilled to be dipping our toes back into these nutritious waters with this episode on folate. Have you ever wondered why folate is important or what the difference is between folate and folic acid? Or maybe you’re curious about this vitamin’s discovery and the impact that fortification programs have had around the world. Look no further – this episode has got all the folate facts you could desire. Tune in to hear how antifolates are used in cancer treatment, where folate got its name, and what a famous savory food spread has to do with the history of this essential vitamin.
| History | Biology |
| Backstrand, Jeffrey R. “The history and future of food fortification in the United States: a public health perspective.” Nutrition Reviews 60.1 (2002): 15-26. | Duthie, S.J., 1999. Folic acid deficiency and cancer: mechanisms of DNA instability. British medical bulletin, 55(3), pp.578-592. |
| Bastian, Hilda. “Lucy Wills (1888-1964): the life and research of an adventurous independent woman.” Journal-Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh 38.1 (2008): 89. | Bailey, L.B. and Gregory III, J.F., 1999. Folate metabolism and requirements. The Journal of nutrition, 129(4), pp.779-782. |
| Cilione, Marco, and Valentina Gazzaniga. “Did Hippocrates know spina bifida?.” The Spine Journal 21.5 (2021): 841. | Greenberg, J.A., Bell, S.J., Guan, Y. and Yu, Y.H., 2011. Folic acid supplementation and pregnancy: more than just neural tube defect prevention. Reviews in Obstetrics and Gynecology, 4(2), p.52. |
| Crider, Krista S., Lynn B. Bailey, and Robert J. Berry. “Folic acid food fortification—its history, effect, concerns, and future directions.” Nutrients 3.3 (2011): 370-384. | Heseker, H.B., Mason, J.B., Selhub, J., Rosenberg, I.H. and Jacques, P.F., 2008. Not all cases of neural-tube defect can be prevented by increasing the intake of folic acid. British Journal of Nutrition, 102(2), pp.173-180. |
| V. Hoffbrand; DG Weir, A. “The history of folic acid.” British Journal of Haematology 3 (2002). | Mills, J.L. and Signore, C., 2004. Neural tube defect rates before and after food fortification with folic acid. Birth Defects Research Part A: Clinical and Molecular Teratology, 70(11), pp.844-845. |
| Kancherla, Vijaya, and Robert E. Black. “Historical perspective on folic acid and challenges in estimating global prevalence of neural tube defects.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1414.1 (2018): 20-30. | Gilbert, S.F. and Singer, S.R., 2000. Formation of the neural tube. Developmental Biology, pp.2125-2137. |
| Finger, S., F. Boller, and K. L. Tyler. “Historical aspects of the major neurological vitamin deficiency disorders: the water-soluble B vitamins.” History of Neurology 95 (2009): 445-476. | Moll, R. and Davis, B., 2017. Iron, vitamin B12 and folate. Medicine, 45(4), pp.198-203. |
| Lucock, Mark. “Is folic acid the ultimate functional food component for disease prevention?.” Bmj 328.7433 (2004): 211-214. | Verhaar, M.C., Stroes, E. and Rabelink, T.J., 2002. Folates and cardiovascular disease. Arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, and vascular biology, 22(1), pp.6-13. |
| Mitchell, Herschel K., Esmond E. Snell, and Roger J. Williams. “The concentration of “folic acid”.” Journal of the American Chemical Society 63.8 (1941): 2284-2284. | Tamura, T. and Picciano, M.F., 2006. Folate and human reproduction. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 83(5), pp.993-1016. |
| Roe, Daphne A. “Lucy Wills (1888–1964) A biographical sketch.” The Journal of Nutrition 108.9 (1978): 1377-1383. | Mai, C.T., Isenburg, J.L., Canfield, M.A., Meyer, R.E., Correa, A., Alverson, C.J., Lupo, P.J., Riehle‐Colarusso, T., Cho, S.J., Aggarwal, D. and Kirby, R.S., 2019. National population‐based estimates for major birth defects, 2010–2014. Birth defects research, 111(18), pp.1420-1435. |
| Rosenberg, Irwin H. “A history of the isolation and identification of folic acid (folate).” Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism 61.3 (2012): 231-235. | Williams, J., Mai, C.T., Mulinare, J., Isenburg, J., Flood, T.J., Ethen, M., Frohnert, B. and Kirby, R.S., 2015. Updated estimates of neural tube defects prevented by mandatory folic acid fortification—United States, 1995–2011. MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report, 64(1), p.1. |
| Shane 2011 Folate status assessment history implications for measurement of biomarkers in nhanes | Llanos, A., Hertrampf, E., Cortes, F., Pardo, A., Grosse, S.D. and Uauy, R., 2007. Cost-effectiveness of a folic acid fortification program in Chile. Health Policy, 83(2-3), pp.295-303. |
| Smith, G. “The history of spina bifida, hydrocephalus, paraplegia, and incontinence.” Pediatric surgery international 17.5 (2001): 424-432. | Giovannucci, E., 2002. Epidemiologic studies of folate and colorectal neoplasia: a review. The Journal of nutrition, 132(8), pp.2350S-2355S. |
| Susser, Ezra, Hans W. Hoek, and Alan Brown. “Neurodevelopmental disorders after prenatal famine: the story of the Dutch Famine Study.” American journal of epidemiology 147.3 (1998): 213-216. | Mills, J.L. and Dimopoulos, A., 2015. Folic acid fortification for Europe?. Bmj, 351. |
| Wadsworth, G. R. “Tropical macrocytic anaemia: the investigations of Lucy Wills in India.” Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health 2.4 (1988): 265-273. | |
| Wald, Nicholas J. “Commentary: a brief history of folic acid in the prevention of neural tube defects.” International journal of epidemiology 40.5 (2011): 1154-1156. | |
| Welch, Arnold D. “Folic acid: discovery and the exciting first decade.” Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 27.1 (1983): 64-75. | |
| Wills, Lucy. “Treatment of “pernicious anaemia of pregnancy” and “tropical anaemia”.” British Medical Journal 1.3676 (1931): 1059. | |
| Video: The Story of Folic Acid Fortification, CDC | |
| NIH Folate Fact Sheet |
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