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British Journal of Cancer logoLink to British Journal of Cancer
. 1982 Sep;46(3):346–353. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1982.210

Folate metabolism in man: the effect of malignant disease.

A M Saleh, A E Pheasant, J A Blair, R N Allan, J Walters
PMCID: PMC2011131  PMID: 6982057

Abstract

The metabolism of [2-14C]+[3', 5', 7, 9-3H] folic acid and [214C]+[3', 5', 7, 9-3H] 10-formylfolate was studied in hospital inpatients. Metabolites detected in the urine after folic acid feeding included the unchanged compound, other folates and a number of breakdown products, such as p-acetamidobenzoyl-L-glutamate and p-acetamidobenzoate. This confirms the existence of a folate catabolic pathway in man. Patients with malignant disease excreted less of the dose in urine, incorporated more into the reduced folate pool, and showed decreased catabolism of folate, when compared to controls. 10-Formylfolate was excreted largely unchanged, and appears not to be reduced by man. Also 10-formylfolate interfered with the reduction of folic acid given simultaneously.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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