Vitamin B9 - Folic acid micronutrient dictionary

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Vitamin B9 (folic acid | folate)

What is vitamin b9?

Vitamin B9 is a water-soluble vitamin from the group of B vitamins. It is also known as folic acid or folate. In food supplements, you should make sure that the methylated folate form is used in the ingredients, i.e. (5-)methyltetrahydrofolate. This form can be directly utilized by the body.¹

What are the functions of vitamin b9?

Almost everyone knows folic acid because it is recommended for pregnant women. This B vitamin is important in the development of the neural tube of the embryo. The neural tube later forms the baby's spinal cord. Correct development is therefore crucial for later functions². Folic acid also contributes to blood formation³. Folic acid is also involved in several other processes in the body. For example, the most important methyl group donor SAM (S-adenosylmethionine) is formed with the help of methylfolate. Methyl groups are important for a variety of processes in our body: formation of membrane phospholipids, gene regulation and neurotransmitter production, to name but a few. The functional group of folic acid is also involved in the production of the nucleotide with the base thymine. This is one of the ways in which vitamin B9 participates in cell division⁴.

What makes vitamin b9 unique?

Vitamin B9 is particularly relevant in the development of the central nervous system and is also relevant for DNA methylation⁵. This opens up a lot of possibilities for vitamin B9.

How much vitamin B9 do you need per day?

The recommended folate intake according to the German Nutrition Society (DGE) is as follows⁸:

Age	*Folate µg-equivalent/day**
Infants
0 to under 4 months	60
4 to under 12 months	80
Children and teenagers
1 to under 4 years	120
4 to under 7 years	140
7 to under 10 years	180
10 to under 13 years	240
13 to under 15 years	300
15 to under 19 years	300
Adults
19 to under 25 years	300
5 to under 51 years	300
51 to under 65 years	300
65 years and older	300
Pregnant women	550
Breastfeeding	450

*Calculated according to the sum of folate-active compounds in the usual diet (folate equivalents):
1 μg folate equivalent = 1 μg dietary folate = 0.5 μg synthetic folic acid

When do you need vitamin b9 most?

If you are pregnant or planning to have children, you should make sure you have a sufficient, high-quality folic acid intake. Folic acid should also not be neglected during growth and when there is an increased need for concentration. If the homocysteine levels in the serum are too high, there is probably a methyl group deficiency⁶. Here too, methylated folic acid is a useful supplement. In the case of anemia, the folic acid requirement may also be increased.⁷

How does an vitamin b9 deficiency develop and how does it manifest itself?

As the body can only store a small amount of folic acid, a deficiency can develop relatively quickly. Not only an unbalanced diet, but also alcoholism, intestinal inflammation, coeliac disease and the intake of certain medications such as anti-epileptic drugs can promote such a deficiency⁹. One possible consequence is so-called megaloblastic anemia, a special form of anemia in which the precursors of red blood cells are larger than average and are increasingly broken down. Signs of this include tiredness, paleness, irritability, shortness of breath and dizziness.¹⁰

What happens if there is an overdose of vitamin b9?

A diet-related overdose is unlikely as excess folic acid is excreted by the body. With food supplements, the maximum amount of 1,000 µg folic acid per day should not be exceeded¹¹. Otherwise there is a risk of symptoms such as nausea, loss of appetite and a bitter taste in the mouth.¹²

Which foods are particularly high in vitamin B9?

Yeasts, cereal sprouts, pulses, liver and leafy vegetables are particularly rich in vitamin B9. As vitamin B9 is sensitive to heat and light, you should be careful when preparing it.

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