Vitamin B9 (folate), B12 and D profile

General Information

Vitamins – “amines of life” – are a group of substances essential for human life, which are involved in practically all vital processes.

Tests for vitamins B9, B12, and D are important for assessing energy metabolism, the nervous system, and bone health. Early detection of their deficiencies helps prevent anemia, immune disorders, and osteoporosis.

Profile of B9, B12, D vitamins

It is informative to examine vitamins in such pathologies as general weakness, fatigue, irritability.

The profile includes the following 3 studies:

• folic acid (vitamin B9)
• Vitamin B12 (cobalamin)
• Vitamin D (total)

folic acid (B9)

Folic acid (FA) Is Group B water soluble vitamin (B9), which participates in the growth and development processes of the organism. FA is essential for the differentiation of red blood cells, for the normal functioning of the bone marrow and nervous system, for cell division, and is very important for the proper development of the fetus.

Food folate is a polyglutamate and needs to be converted to a monoglutamate in order to be absorbed by the body, it is less bioavailable compared to synthetic folic acid.

Folic acid is absorbed in the small intestine. After absorption, food folate and reabsorbed bile folate move into the circulation, where they bind non-specifically and with low affinity to albumin; One-third circulates in free form, and only a very small fraction binds to the folate-binding protein obtained from the cell membrane; Circulating follicle monoglutamate is rapidly absorbed at the cellular level via the follicle receptor or by passive diffusion, converted to polyglutamate folate at the cytosolic level, and then transported to organs (35% of intracellular folium is found in mitochondria).

The human body contains 5-10 mg of folate and most (50%) is stored in the liver. Excretion occurs in feces (important for entero-hepatic processing) and urine.

Folic acid is also synthesized by intestinal bacteria.

In the absence of folic acid Symptoms include: irritability, concentration problems and loss of appetite, inflammation of the mucous membranes, anemia, and severe neurological disorders.

During pregnancy The need for FA doubles. Its deficiency can lead to premature birth and severe fetal developmental pathologies (especially spinal and brain defects). Taking folic acid during pregnancy can reduce the risk of developing neural tube defects by 85%.

Vitamin B12