Folic acid is a water-soluble vitamin B that was initially isolated from a spinach plant’s leaves. Folic acid is an essential element for nucleic acid synthesis, a necessary substance for cell growth and tissue repair, as well as an indispensable nutrient during embryonic development. A lot of investigations in recent years have confirmed that folic acid deficiency is the main cause of birth defects, such as neural tube defects, gestational hypertension, spontaneous abortion, intrauterine growth retardation, premature delivery, and low birth weight.
It was found that the activity of MTHFR is closely related to polymorphisms of C677T and A1298C；the activity of MTRR is related to the A66G polymorphism. When the activity of MTHFR and/or MTRR decreases, insufficient utilization of folic acid will increase the risk of birth defects.
There is a certain proportion of risk genotypes in the Chinese population; 78% of people have different mutational genotypes, leading to different folic acid utilization capabilities. Therefore, folic acid supplementation should be personalized.
Annoroad’s gene testing of folic acid utilization capability can detect the mutational status of the three nucleotide sites in two genes, offering a personalized folic acid supplementation scheme for pregnant women.
