Posted by Ron Hill on November 23, 2007, at 19:22:47
In reply to Re: Please see my post below regarding Metafolin » Ron Hill, posted by clipper40 on November 23, 2007, at 2:09:47
> > http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20071115/msgs/796578.html
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> Hi Ron,
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> I understand that MegaFolinic (folinic acid)is not the same as L-methylfolate but according to the blurb on it at iHerb.com, it converts more easily to L-methylfolate than regular folic acid:True. There are four steps that folic acid must go through before it becomes L-methylfolate. The first step is the one that some people (30% to 50% of the general population, depending on who you read) have at least some amount of difficulty in transforming folic acid to dihydrofolate via the dihydrofolate reductase.
This will all make more sense if we look at pictures. Therefore, pull up the following page on the Deplin web site:
http://www.deplin.com/DeplinFacts,VsFolicAcid
Notice on the flowchart that there are four steps for folic acid and it is the first step that is difficult for some people to make. And, of course, no steps are needed for L-methylfolate (Deplin).
Let's look at another picture:
http://www.metafolin.com/pdfs/Scientific_Review_13.12.pdf (the pdf pulls up slowly)
Look on page 5. This bottom drawing shows the steps that folic acid has to go through to become L-methylfolate.
As an aside, read the text on page 5. This is part of the reason why all patients taking folates should also take methylcobalamin (methyl-B12). Further, it is also important to take P-5-P (coenzymatic form of B-6). VERY important to take both. If not, then take Metanx, http://www.metanx.com/ . Scroll to the bottom of the page and notice that Metanx has all three in it already (L-methylfolate, P-5-P, and methyl-B12).
> "Folinic acid does not require the enzymatic conversion that folic acid does so there is enhanced effectiveness for many people. Research suggests that folinic acid is more bioavailable than folic acid because it is more rapidly converted into L-methylfolate, the form of folate in circulation that can cross the blood-brain barrier.*"
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> http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?c=1&pid=7735
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> So I was wondering if it might still work as well, or nearly as well, as L-methylfolate. Probably not but maybe it's worth a try?I don’t know the answer to your question. In doing some reading, to try to answer your question, my hunch is that it would work nearly as well. But, don’t quote me on that. Folinic acid is a 5-formyl derivative of tetrahydrofolate and it is readily converted to other reduced folic acid derivatives (e.g. tetrahydrofolate). I’m not sure where on the Deplin website flowchart 5-formyl tetrahydrofolate would be located. Is it to the right or left of tetrahydrofolate, or somewhere else? I dunno.
As a side note, folinic acid is used as an adjuvant in cancer chemotherapy. For this purpose, folinic acid is known as leucovorin.
Not much help to you on this one Clipper.
Why not just get a script from your pdoc for Deplin, Metanx, or CerefolinNAC, and let your insurance company pay for it?
> C40
poster:Ron Hill
thread:784893
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20071115/msgs/796730.html