title: [Stability and effect of ingestion on the levels of folate in plasma].
abstract: The physiological demand of folates increases during adolescence, pregnancy and lactation due to the rapid growth and anabolic activity during these stages of life. The periconceptional deficiency of folates is a risk for the presence of neural tube defects. We studied the stability of folates concentration in plasma and the effect of ingestion of a breakfast rich in folates on the postprandial levels of this micronutrient, up to two hours after food intake. For the stability assay the samples were stored protected from light at -70 degrees C and analysed at time intervals of 1, 8, 30, 90 and 120 days. The mean folates concentration in plasma was higher in postprandial stage (8.9 ng/dl) that in fasting (7.9 ng/dl), which represents a statistically significant (p < 0.01) increase of 11%. This study confirms that fasting is important in folates determination for diagnosis and research purposes to establish deficiency prevalence of this micronutrient in a population. Concerning the stability of folates concentration, we did not find a significant difference between the several time analysis (p > 0.1); this suggests that folates concentrations in plasma remain stable under the experimental conditions described.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Salud, Bogotá, D.C., Colombia.
authors.forename: Visitación
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Noy
authors.forename: César M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Baracaldo
authors.forename: Yibby
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Forero
authors.forename: Elpidia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Poveda
authors.forename: Martha R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Sánchez
authors.forename: Lucía
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Castro de Navarro
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004435:Eating / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D012016:Reference Values; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D005492:Folic Acid