Calcium L-5-methyltetrahydrofolate

Calcium L-5-methyltetrahydrofolate is the calcium salt of L-5-methyltetrahydrofolic acid ^[1], which is the predominant, naturally occurring form of folate. It is synthesized by reduction of folic acid to tetrahydrofolic acid followed by methylation and diastereoselective crystallization (in water) of L-5-methyltetrahydrofolic acid as its calcium salt. The product contains variable amounts of water of crystallization.

Commercial use of Calcium L-5-methyltetrahydrofolate in pharmaceutical products began in Europe in the early part of this decade. This approach to folate supplementation has potential to impact prenatal care, homocysteine management, and the treatment of depression, dementia and cardiovascular concerns.

Prenatal care: low folate status has been linked to neural tube defects, recurrent pregnancy loss, low birth weight and a variety of age-related high risk complications of pregnancy.

Homocysteine management: elevated homocysteine is frequently linked to the presence of the MTHFR polymorphism.

Depression: folate status has been linked to the performance of SSRI drugs.[citation needed] Many patients have required folate supplementation in order to adequately respond to standard treatment protocol.

Dementia: folate status has been linked to the efficacy of neural transmitters and cognitive performance. Only active, levomefolic acid can cross the blood brain barrier.

Diabetic neuropathy: folate status has been shown to have a substantial impact upon wound care.

[1] L-5-methyltetrahydrofolic acid
Levomefolic acid (INN) (also known as 5-MTHF and l-methylfolate) is the natural, active form of folic acid used at the cellular level for DNA reproduction, the cysteine cycle and the regulation of homocysteine among other functions. The un-methylated form, folic acid (vitamin B9), is a synthetic form of folate found in nutritional supplements. Synthetic folic acid is metabolized in the body into levomefolic acid. It is synthesized in the absorptive cells of the small intestine from polyglutamylated dietary folate. It is a methylated derivate of tetrahydrofolate (THF, H4F). Levomefolic acid is generated by methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) from 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate (5,10-CH2-THF, MTHF) and used to recycle homocysteine back to methionine by 5-methyltetrahydrofolate- homocysteine methyltransferase (MTR) also known as methionine synthase (MS). Levomefolic acid has been proposed for treatment of cardiovascular disease and advanced cancers such as breast and colorectal cancers. It bypasses several metabolic steps in the body and better binds thymidylate synthase with fDump, a metabolite of the drug fluorouracil.

Seebio Biotech, Inc. provides Calcium L-5-methyltetrahydrofolate as follows.

ALK0020A Specifications: