Posted by Jamal Spelling on January 13, 2008, at 11:34:57
In reply to Re: Deplin is a drug, not a nutritional supplement, posted by Racer on January 13, 2008, at 11:12:29
I've been doing some reading on the internet. From what I could find:-
5-formyl-tetrahydrofolate is more commonly known as folinic acid. In the chain of folic acid being metabolised into l-methylfolate, folinic acid lies somewhere between the two.
L-5-methyl-tetrahydrofolate *is* L-methylfolate. l-methylfolate is not patented (because it occurs naturally within the human body), but rather, the process by which it is synthesised is patented. A proprietary form of l-methylfolate called Metafolin has been available for years as an OTC supplement. It is Metafolin that is found in certain OTC supplements, including presumably Metan-X.
I used to take a supplement containing L-5-MTHF until about 2 months ago, when I had surgery and stopped all my supplements to be safe. I might start using it again now. Although word on the street is, with the introduction of Deplin, they might pull Metafolin as an OTC substance... Hope not.
poster:Jamal Spelling
thread:806127
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080105/msgs/806139.html