Folic Acid Deficiencies may Trigger Multi-Generational Health Problems

Folic acid, a water-soluble B vitamin that's been commonly added to cold cereals, flour, breads, and bakery items as part of federal law since 1998, is naturally found in leafy vegetables, okra, asparagus, fruits, beans, yeast, mushrooms, meat, orange juice and tomato juice.

With all the food items listed above, it seems quite easy to get the recommended dose of your daily folic acid per day--that's 400 to 800 micrograms a day if you're a woman of who's hoping to have children.

Yet research shows that most women do not get enough folic acid, and food alone may not always provide the necessary amounts of the vitamin.

According to researchers from the University of Calgary and Cambridge, United Kingdom, they discovered that a mutation in a gene that's necessary for the metabolism of folic acid not only impacts immediate offspring but can also have detrimental health effects that may cause such health problems as spina bifida and heart abnormalities for subsequent generations. The study takes an in-depth look at the vitamin's importance during development.

Statistics show that about one in 1,200 children are born with spina bifida. This can often result as a folic acid deficiency during pregnancy.

"Fortification programs have reduced the risk of health effects but not eliminated them completely," said Dr. Jay Cross via a press release, with the faculties of medicine and veterinary medicine. "Based on our research, we now believe that it may take more than one generation to eliminate the health problems caused by folate deficiency. In addition, we need to be thinking not just about our own genes and how they impact our health and development, but also those of our descendents."

Researchers used mice for the study as their folic acid metabolism is very similar to humans. This helped the researchers be able to better explore how the molecular mechanism of folic acid deficiency impacts development.

The researchers found that either the maternal grandmother or grandfather carried the Mtrr gene, which encodes an enzyme that is key to the metabolism of folic acid. If mutated, it can cause similar effects to a dietary folic acid deficiency. Therefore, if either carried this gene, their genetically normal grandchildren were at a higher risk for various developmental abnormalities relating to folic acid deficiencies.

Though study authors conclude that more research needs to be conducted in order to determine an exact cause, these abnormal epigenetic marks created by the Mtrr mutation are indeed inherited throughout generations and play an important role in the development process.

More information regarding the study can be found via the journal Cell.