Editing Folate (section)

==Definition==
[[Image:Folate family.svg|thumb|left|250px|class=skin-invert-image|Chemical structure of the folate family]]
''Folate'' (vitamin B<sub>9</sub>) refers to the many forms of folic acid and its [[Congener (chemistry)|related compounds]], including [[tetrahydrofolic acid]] (the active form), [[methyltetrahydrofolate]] (the primary form found in blood), [[5,10-Methenyltetrahydrofolate|methenyltetrahydrofolate]], [[folinic acid]], folacin, and pteroylglutamic acid.<ref name=lpi/><ref>{{cite web|title=Folic Acid|url=https://livertox.nlm.nih.gov//FolicAcid.htm|publisher=NIH LiverTox|date=2 June 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170107010702/https://livertox.nlm.nih.gov/FolicAcid.htm|archive-date=7 January 2017}}</ref><ref name=CDCFAQ>{{cite web|title=FAQ's Folic Acid|url=https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/folicacid/faqs.html|publisher=CDC|date=16 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710114350/https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/folicacid/faqs.html|archive-date=10 July 2017|access-date=7 July 2017}}</ref><ref name = "IUPAC_folic_acid" /> Historic names included ''L.&nbsp;⁠casei'' factor, vitamin B<sub>c</sub> and vitamin M.<ref name=Welch1983>{{cite journal |vauthors=Welch AD |s2cid=31993927 |title=Folic acid: discovery and the exciting first decade |journal=Perspect. Biol. Med. |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=64–75 |date=1983 |pmid=6359053 |doi=10.1353/pbm.1983.0006 }}</ref>

The terms ''folate'' and ''folic acid'' have somewhat different meanings in different contexts, although sometimes used interchangeably.<ref>{{cite web | title = Folic Acid | url = https://medlineplus.gov/folicacid.html | work = MedlinePlus | publisher = U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | access-date = 15 December 2019 | archive-date = 31 July 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200731221822/https://medlineplus.gov/folicacid.html | url-status = live }}</ref> Within the field of [[organic chemistry]], folate refers to the [[conjugate base]] of folic acid.<ref>{{cite web | title = Folic acid | url = https://www.ebi.ac.uk/chebi/searchId.do?chebiId=CHEBI:27470 | work = Chemical Entities of Biological Interest (ChEBI) | publisher = European Bioinformatics Institute | access-date = 15 December 2019 | archive-date = 31 July 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200731171418/https://www.ebi.ac.uk/chebi/searchId.do?chebiId=CHEBI:27470 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="IUPAC_folic_acid">{{cite web | vauthors = Moss GP | title = Nomenclature and symbols for folic acid and related compounds | url = https://www.qmul.ac.uk/sbcs/iupac/misc/folic.html | quote = Folate and folic acid are the preferred synonyms for pteroylglutamate and pteroylglutamic acid, respectively. | work = IUPAC-IUB Joint Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature (JCBN) | date = 1986 | access-date = 15 December 2019 | archive-date = 30 November 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201130112000/https://www.qmul.ac.uk/sbcs/iupac/misc/folic.html | url-status = live }}</ref> Within the field of [[biochemistry]], folates refer to a class of biologically active compounds related to and including folic acid.<ref>{{cite book |vauthors=Combs JR GF, McClung JP |chapter=Chapter 17: Folate |title=The Vitamins: Fundamental Aspects in Nutrition and Health |date=2016 |isbn=978-0-12-802983-1 |pages=400–401 |publisher=Academic Press |edition=Fifth |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UEy0DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA400 |quote=The term folate is the generic descriptor for folic acid (pteroylmonoglutamic acid or pteroylglutamic acid) and related compounds exhibiting the biological activity of folic acid. |access-date=15 December 2019 |archive-date=12 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230112173407/https://books.google.com/books?id=UEy0DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA400 |url-status=live }}</ref> Within the field of [[nutrition]], the ''folates'' are a family of essential nutrients related to folic acid obtained from natural sources whereas the term ''folic acid'' is reserved for the manufactured form that is used as a dietary supplement.<ref>{{cite web | title = Folic acid in diet | url = https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002408.htm | work = MedlinePlus | publisher = U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | access-date = 15 December 2019 | archive-date = 31 July 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200731180118/https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002408.htm | url-status = live }}</ref>

Chemically, folates consist of three distinct chemical moieties linked together. A [[pterin]] (2-amino-4-hydroxy-pteridine) [[heterocyclic]] ring is linked by a [[methylene bridge]] to a [[p-aminobenzoic acid|p-aminobenzoyl]] group that in turn is bonded through an amide linkage to either [[glutamic acid]] or poly-glutamate. One-carbon units in a variety of [[oxidation state]]s may be attached to the N5 nitrogen atom of the pteridine ring and/or the N10 nitrogen atom of the p-aminobenzoyl group.<ref name="Zheng_2019">{{cite journal | vauthors = Zheng Y, Cantley LC | title = Toward a better understanding of folate metabolism in health and disease | journal = The Journal of Experimental Medicine | volume = 216 | issue = 2 | pages = 253–266 | date = February 2019 | pmid = 30587505 | pmc = 6363433 | doi = 10.1084/jem.20181965 }}</ref>