Concentration of folic acid (FA) in serum of Japanese pregnant women
-
Nathan Mise
,
Mayumi Ohtsu
Abstract
Objectives
Exposure to inorganic arsenic (iAs) is a world-wide health concern. We reported that Japanese children and pregnant women are exposed to moderate levels of iAs through food. Reducing iAs contamination from foods of high iAs is an important issue unique in Japan. Integrated iAs is methylated to less toxic organic forms, and S-adenosyl-L-methyonine (SAM), a common methyl-donor of DNA and histones, is utilized in this process. Chronic consumption of SAM by iAs metabolism due to exposure to iAs might alter the epigenetic modification of genome. The SAM biosynthesis pathway is dependent on folate cycle, and it is possible that ingestion of sufficient folic acid (FA) is protective to iAs induced toxicity.
Methods
In the course of our cross-sectional body burden analyses of Pb and iAs in Japanese children and pregnant women, termed “PbAs study”, FA concentration in serum of 104 pregnant women was measured.
Results
Mean (±SEM) of serum FA concentration was 15.8 ± 1.3 (ng/mL). There are significant number of people showing very high FA (>30 ng/ mL), and large fraction of them were taking supplements daily.
Conclusions
These results suggested that level of FA ingestion of Japanese pregnant women is high for supporting normal fetal development.
Funding source: Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan
Award Identifier / Grant number: H25-Food-General-006
Funding source: JSPS KAKENHI
Award Identifier / Grant number: 15K06912
Acknowledgments
The authors would like thank to Ms. Yumiko Tateno, Ms. Masami Yoneda, Ms. Akiko Higashimoto for their assistance with the present study.
Research funding: This work was supported by Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan (H25-Food-General-006) and JSPS KAKENHI, Grant Number 15K06912.
Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
Competing interests: None declared.
Informed consent: All participants provided informed consent.
Ethical approval: This study was approved by the ethics committees of Jichi Medical University (approval number: Gene 15-22; 2015) and Asahikawa Medical University (approval number; No. 1660-3).
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© 2020 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Assessing and mitigating environmental exposures in early life
- Mini Reviews
- Impact of pesticide exposure in childhood
- Risk of Mercury exposure during childhood: a review of Sri Lankan situation
- Methylmercury-induced pro-inflammatory cytokines activation and its preventive strategy using anti-inflammation N-acetyl-l-cysteine: a mini-review
- Multi-level analysis of symptoms of poison exposure reported to the Japanese Poison Information Center
- Review Article
- Chemical mixtures and neurobehavior: a review of epidemiologic findings and future directions
- Original Articles
- Human health risk assessment of heavy metals via consumption of fish from Kao Bay
- The relationship of mercury exposure with neurological problems in artisanal gold in Makassar city
- Contribution of house dust contamination towards lead exposure among children in Karachi, Pakistan
- Concentration of folic acid (FA) in serum of Japanese pregnant women
- Introducing the ORIGINS project: a community-based interventional birth cohort
- Effect of particulate matter 2.5 exposure to urinary malondialdehyde levels of public transport drivers in Jakarta
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Assessing and mitigating environmental exposures in early life
- Mini Reviews
- Impact of pesticide exposure in childhood
- Risk of Mercury exposure during childhood: a review of Sri Lankan situation
- Methylmercury-induced pro-inflammatory cytokines activation and its preventive strategy using anti-inflammation N-acetyl-l-cysteine: a mini-review
- Multi-level analysis of symptoms of poison exposure reported to the Japanese Poison Information Center
- Review Article
- Chemical mixtures and neurobehavior: a review of epidemiologic findings and future directions
- Original Articles
- Human health risk assessment of heavy metals via consumption of fish from Kao Bay
- The relationship of mercury exposure with neurological problems in artisanal gold in Makassar city
- Contribution of house dust contamination towards lead exposure among children in Karachi, Pakistan
- Concentration of folic acid (FA) in serum of Japanese pregnant women
- Introducing the ORIGINS project: a community-based interventional birth cohort
- Effect of particulate matter 2.5 exposure to urinary malondialdehyde levels of public transport drivers in Jakarta
