Supplementation with [6S]-5-methyltetrahydrofolate or folic acid equally reduces serum homocysteine concentrations in older adults

Abstract

Folic acid (FA) supplementation reduces the elevated serum homocysteine (Hcy) concentrations. [6 S]-5-methyltetrahydrofolate ([6 S]-5-MTHF) is an alternative to FA due to possible advantages, that is, no masking cobalamin deficiency. The study aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of [6 S]-5-MTHF in relations to FA supplementation in reducing the serum Hcy. Healthy volunteers, aged 50–65, had normal serum folate and did not use supplements with B-vitamins for 6 months. Forty subjects were divided into two groups: receiving 400 μg/d FA or the equimolar amount of [6 S]-5-MTHF. Blood was collected at baseline and after 4 weeks. In both groups, a significant decrease in the mean Hcy level after intervention period was observed. Supplementation with [6 S]-5-MTHF was slightly less effective, but not significantly, in Hcy lowering than FA (p = .243 between the groups), that is, by 7.8% and 13.4%, respectively. The [6 S]-5-MTHF was shown to be an adequate alternative to FA in reducing Hcy concentrations.

Keywords:

• 5-Methyltetrahydrofolate
• folic acid
• supplementation
• homocysteine
• older adults

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the staff of the Institute of Mother and Child in Warsaw for the performance of the blood samples analysis. We thank the persons who participated in the study.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This study forms a part of the NAS Extension of FolateFuncHealth project [QLRT-1999-00576 & QLRT-2002-2740] and is funded by the European Union under Key Action 1: Food, Nutrition & Health.