Nutritional Requirements for Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid

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Abstract
The minimum daily adult vitamin B12 requirement is in the range of 0.1 µg, and the minimal daily adult folate requirement is in the range of 50 µg. Vitamin B12 is not catabolized, but folate is (47); it is partly for this reason that the requirement for folate is much greater than for vitamin B12. Folate requirement is sharply increased (perhaps up to sixfold) by conditions producing increase in metabolism of one-carbon units, such as hyperthyroidism, pregnancy and hemolytic anemia; increases in vitamin B12 requirement brought about by increased metabolic rate are considerably less striking. Measurements of serum (48) and erythrocyte (49) folate activity will continue to be major guides in assessing folate requirements.