title: Folate compartments during gestational maturation.
abstract: Studies on 41 healthy preterm infants and 53 term infants revealed that almost 70% of the total folate is present in the bound form. Beyond the enonatal period the increase in bound folate with increasing gestational maturity reflects fetal demands placed on folate transport and affords an explanation for the loss of folate and corresponding increase in unsaturated binder during pregnancy. With the knowledge of folate biology gained from radioligand data, it is reasonable to postulate that effective folate metabolism depends upon a metabolically active transport mechanism.
mesh_terms: D001692:Biological Transport; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000032:analysis; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000097:blood*; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D011247:Pregnancy; D011485:Protein Binding
chemical_list: D005492:Folic Acid