If you've started looking into prenatal nutrition, you've probably come across the terms folic acid, folate and methylfolate. They are often used interchangeably, but they are not exactly the same.
All three relate to vitamin B9, a nutrient that plays a vital role during pregnancy. Understanding the differences can help you make more informed choices when selecting a prenatal supplement and understand why different formulations use different forms of this important nutrient.
Why Folate Matters During Pregnancy
Folate is one of the most important nutrients for pregnancy. It supports healthy cell division, DNA synthesis and the rapid growth that takes place during early development.
One of folate's most well established roles is supporting the development of the neural tube, which eventually forms the baby's brain and spinal cord. This is why women are advised to ensure adequate folate intake before conception and throughout early pregnancy.
Beyond fetal development, folate also supports normal maternal health, including healthy red blood cell production, energy metabolism and cognitive function.
What Is Folate?
Folate is the naturally occurring form of vitamin B9 found in foods such as leafy green vegetables, legumes, avocados and eggs.
Whilst folate occurs naturally in food, it is less stable and generally less bioavailable than folic acid. This is one of the reasons folic acid was developed, allowing a more reliable source of vitamin B9 to be delivered through supplements and fortified foods.
What Is Folic Acid?
Folic acid is the synthetic form of vitamin B9.
It has been used in prenatal supplements and food fortification programmes for decades because it is highly stable, cost effective and well absorbed. Extensive public health initiatives using folic acid have helped reduce the incidence of neural tube defects around the world.
Although folic acid is readily absorbed, it must undergo several conversion steps within the body before it can be used in biological processes.
For most people, this conversion happens efficiently. However, individual differences in genetics and metabolism can influence how effectively this process occurs.
What is Methylfolate?
Methylfolate, often listed as 5-MTHF or L-methylfolate, is the biologically active form of folate that the body can use directly.
Unlike food state folate or folic acid, methylfolate does not require the final conversion step before it becomes available for use. This difference has led many supplement formulations to include methylfolate as their preferred source of folate.
When we consume folic acid, the body converts it through a series of enzymatic steps into its active form, 5-MTHF.
One of the key enzymes involved in this process is produced by a gene called MTHFR (methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase).
The MTHFR Gene
The MTHFR gene produces an enzyme that helps convert folate and folic acid into 5-MTHF, the biologically active form that the body can use. Research suggests that around 40 to 50% of the global population carry a common variation in the MTHFR gene, which may reduce the efficiency of this conversion process.
For most people, this does not cause any obvious health issues. However, individuals with certain MTHFR variants may produce less of the enzyme needed to convert vitamin B9 into its active form. This has led to growing interest in methylfolate supplements, as they provide folate directly in its active form and do not rely on this final conversion step.
Why Rheal Uses Quatrefolic
At Rheal, we've chosen to include Quatrefolic, a premium form of Methylfolate, in our Pregnancy + New Mama formulation.
Quatrefolic provides 400mcg of folate in its active methylfolate form. It has been specifically developed to offer excellent stability while delivering folate in a form that is readily available to the body.
Because Quatrefolic is already active, it does not rely on the same conversion pathway as folic acid. This makes it a thoughtful choice for a modern prenatal formulation designed with bioavailability in mind.
The Wider Benefits of Folate
While folate is often associated with neural tube development, its role extends much further. Adequate folate intake supports:
- Healthy cell growth and division
- DNA synthesis
- Red blood cell production
- Energy metabolism
- Cognitive function
- Maternal wellbeing throughout pregnancy
These functions are particularly important during pregnancy and breastfeeding when both mother and baby have increased nutritional demands.
Folic Acid vs Folate: Which Is Best?
Both folic acid and methylfolate can contribute to healthy folate status and support pregnancy.
The key difference lies in how they are processed by the body. Folic acid requires conversion before it can be used, whereas methylfolate is already in its active form.
For this reason, many prenatal supplements now use methylfolate, particularly forms such as Quatrefolic, as part of a more considered approach to prenatal nutrition.
Research
(1) https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/16/4/441
(3) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4095662/#sec2
(4) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214109X24003383#bib1
(6) http://tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/00498254.2013.845705?src=
(7) https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/jpm-2012-0256/html
