title: Folic acid absorption in women with a history of pregnancy with neural tube defect.
abstract: Folic acid absorption was compared in nonpregnant women with a history of pregnancy with a neural tube defect (cases)(n = 10) with that of control women (n = 10) with a normal pregnancy history. [2H4]folic acid was administered in an oral dose (400 micrograms) to fasting case and control subjects after a 30-d saturation protocol involving daily ingestion of two 1-mg folic acid supplements. Serum and red blood cell folate concentrations were not different for case and control subjects before or during the saturation protocol (P > 0.05). The percentage (x +/- SD) of the oral dose of [2H4]folic acid excreted in 24-h urine collections postdose was not different (P > 0.05) for case compared with control subjects (9.05 +/- 2.25% and 11.10 +/- 3.41%, respectively). These data suggest that the absorption of folic acid routinely consumed in supplements and fortified food products is not impaired in women with a history of a pregnancy with a neural tube defect. Further case-controlled studies are needed to compare the absorption of the predominant dietary form of the vitamin.
authors.affiliation: Food Science and Human Nutrition Department, University of Florida, Gainesville 32611, USA.
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: L B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Bailey
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Gregory
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Toth
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dean
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Stevenson
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000328:Adult; D001682:Biological Availability; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000097:blood / Q000493:pharmacokinetics* / Q000652:urine; D006801:Humans; D007408:Intestinal Absorption; D009436:Neural Tube Defects; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D005492:Folic Acid