Plasma folate assessment provides clinical insight into aberrant folate metabolism that can significantly affect crucial methylation processes, metabolism of DNA / RNA, and metabolism of neurotransmitters. Naturally occurring folates are mostly derived from dark green leafy vegetables while synthetic folic acid is used in cereals and other processed foods under mandate. There is debate concerning synthetic folic acid because it is not considered biologically active until it is converted into activated folates, and can inhibit the metabolism of folate. Traditionally, the long-term folate status is determined as the amount of total folates in red blood cells, but this does not include clinically relevant details regarding different folate types. The folate plasma profile measures THF, UMFA, folinic acid, and 5-MTHF levels, which can be used to track clinical intervention.
Analytes tested in this test kit include:
- 5 Methyl-tetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF)
- Folinic Acid
- Folic Acid
- Tetrahydrofolate (THF)
This test can be useful for the following:
- Prenatal Care
- Autism
- Folate Receptor Autoantibodies
- Cancer/Chemotherapy
- Nutritional Deficiencies
- Detoxification Impairment
- Elevated Homocysteine
- General Health and Longevity
- Cardiovascular Disease
- Neurodegenerative Diseases
- Neurotransmitter Imbalances
- Psychiatric Disorders
- Genetic Disorders
- Behavioral Disorders
- Assess functional folate metabolism invariants of MTHFR and COMT
- Assess therapeutic interventions of enzymatic deficiencies of methylation