folic acid
The definitions used in this glossary of terminology either have been provided by the authors of the articles, or have been extracted wholly or in part, or paraphrased from the following sources: The American Medical Association Encyclopedia of Medicine, Charles B. Clayman, MD, Medical Editor, Random House, New York, 1989; Biotechnology from A to Z, 2d Edition, William Bains, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2002; A Dictionary of Genetics, 6th Edition, Robert C. King and William D. Stansfield, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2002; Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 29th and 30th Editions, W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia, 2000, 2003; Genes VII, Benjamin Lewin, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2000; The Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders, Volumes I and II, Stacey L. Blachford, Ed., Thomson Learning, New York, New York, 2002; The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Inc., Springfield, Massachusetts, 1997; Molecular Biology of the Cell, 3rd Edition, Bruce Alberts, et al., Garland Publishing, 1994; The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged Edition, 1966; Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, 1991.
DEFINITION:
- folic acid
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1. A water-soluble vitamin of the B complex composed of pteroic acid linked to L-glutamic acid (pteroylglutamic acid); more generally, any derivatives having various levels of reduction of the bicyclic pteridine portion, substitutions at this structure, and number of glutamate residues. Folic acid is necessary for hematopoiesis and is found in liver, green vegetables, and yeast. After absorption, it is successively reduced to dihydrofolic acid and then tetrahydrofolic acid, the parent compound of the derivatives that act as coenzyme carriers of one-carbon groups in various metabolic reactions. Deficiency of folic acid results in anemia.
2. [USP] A preparation of folic acid administered orally or parenterally in the treatment of folic acid deficiency and megaloblastic anemia.
Used in 6 Term definitions
Used in 6 Term definitions