Prediction of fruit and vegetable intake from biomarkers using individual participant data of diet-controlled intervention studies

Fruit and vegetable consumption produces changes in several biomarkers in blood. The present study aimed to examine the dose-response curve between fruit and vegetable consumption and carotenoid (alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, lutein and zeaxanthin), folate and vitamin C concentrations. Furthermore, a prediction...

Dietary folate and folate vitamers and the risk of prostate cancer in the Netherlands Cohort Study

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to examine the association between intake of folate, and specific folate vitamers, and the risk of advanced and total prostate cancer. Methods: The association between dietary folate and prostate cancer risk was evaluated in The Netherlands Cohort Study (NLCS) on diet and cancer, conducted among 58,279...

Dietary methyl donors, methyl metabolizing enzymes, and epigenetic regulators: Diet-gene interactions and promoter CpG island hypermethylation in colorectal cancer

Dietary methyl donors might influence DNA methylation during carcinogenesis of colorectal cancer (CRC). Among 609 CRC cases and 1,663 subcohort members of the Netherlands Cohort Study on diet and cancer (n = 120,852), we estimated CRC risk according to methyl donor intake across genotypes of folate metabolizing enzymes and methyltransferases....

Pooled analyses of 13 prospective cohort studies on folate intake and colon cancer

Objective: Studies of folate intake and colorectal cancer risk have been inconsistent. We examined the relation with colon cancer risk in a series of 13 prospective studies. Methods: Study-and sex-specific relative risks (RRs) were estimated from the primary data using Cox proportional hazards models and then pooled using a random-effects model....

Red blood cell folate vitamer distribution in healthy subjects is determined by the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase C677T polymorphism and by the total folate status

Background: Red blood cells (RBCs) represent a storage pool for folate. In contrast to plasma, RBC folate can appear in different biochemical isoforms. So far, only the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) 677 TT genotype has been identified as a determinant of RBC folate vitamer distribution. Objective: The purpose of this study is to...

Research goals for folate and related B vitamin in Europe

In the past decade, the understanding of folate bioavailability, metabolism and related health issues has increased, but several problems remain, including the difficulty of delivering the available knowledge to the populations at risk. Owing to the low compliance of taking folic acid supplements, for example, among women of child-bearing age...

Bioavailability of folic acid from fortified pasteurised and UHT-treated milk in humans

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate whether milk fortified with folic acid enhances the folate status of humans and whether the presence of folate-binding proteins (FBP) in pasteurised milk affects the bioavailability of folic acid from fortified milk. In untreated and pasteurised milk, folate occurs bound to FBP, while FBP is ...

Effect of folate-binding protein on intestinal transport of folic acid and 5-methyltetrahydrofolate across Caco-2 cells

Background: Milk products are a potential matrix for fortification with synthetic folic acid or natural 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-CH 3-H4folate) to enhance the daily folate intake. In milk, folate occurs bound to folatebinding proteins (FBP). Our previous studies with an in vitro gastrointestinal model showed that 70% of the initial FBP...

The Binding of Folic Acid and 5-Methyltetrahydrofolate to Folate-Binding Proteins during Gastric Passage Differs in a Dynamic in Vitro Gastrointestinal Model

Despite its low natural folate concentration, milk is responsible for 10-15% of the daily folate intake in countries with a high dairy consumption. Milk products can be considered as a potential matrix for folate fortification, e.g., with synthetic folic acid, to enhance the daily intake of folate. In untreated milk, the natural folate, 5...

Folic acid and 5-methyltetrahydrofolate in fortified milk are bioaccessible as determined in a dynamic in vitro gastrointestinal model

Dairy products are a potential matrix for folate fortification to enhance folate consumption in the Western world. Milk folate-binding proteins (FBP) are especially interesting because they seem to be involved in folate bioavailability. In this study, folate bioaccessibility was investigated using a dynamic computer-controlled gastrointestinal...

Bioaccessibility of Folic Acid and (6S)-5-Methyltetrahydrofolate Decreases after the Addition of Folate-Binding Protein to Yogurt as Studied in a Dynamic in Vitro Gastrointestinal Model

Milk products are only moderate sources of folate. Nevertheless, they are of interest due to their content of folate-binding proteins (FBP), which in some studies have been reported to increase folate bioavailability. The effect of FBP on folate bioavailability has been widely discussed. The aim of this study was to investigate the...

Intestinal absorption of different types of folate in healthy subjects with an ileostomy

Our knowledge on the absorption of folate is incomplete. The deconjugation process as a possible limiting factor in the absorption of folates was investigated. The study also attempted to validate the use of the area under the serum response curve (AUC) from food compared with folic acid as a proxy variable for food folate bioavailability....

Are retinol, vitamin C, vitamin E, folate and carotenoids intake associated with bladder cancer risk?: results from the Netherlands cohort study

In the Netherlands Cohort Study among 120 852 subjects aged 55-69 years at baseline (1986), the association between vitamins and carotenoids intake, vitamin supplement use, and bladder cancer incidence was examined. Exposure status was measured with a food-frequency questionnaire. After 6.3 years of follow-up, data from 569 cases and 3123...

Responding to consumer needs: Risk-benefit analysis of fortification

In spite of an on average adequate dietary nutrient intake and status in most European countries, for some micronutrients (e.g. folate, vitamin D, B2, B6, B12 (in elderly), iron and iodine) subgroups have been identified which may be at risk and may benefit from a higher intake, especially elderly and (pregnant) women. In this paper the...