본 연구는 혈중 엽산농도와 대사증후군의 관련성을 살펴보고자 한다. 분석에 사용한 자료는 국 민건강영양조사 2018년도 자료(제7기 3차)를 사용하였으며 본 연구는 만 19세 이상인 성인을 대상으로 혈 중 엽산농도를 측정한 대상자 중 남자 495명, 여자 706명, 총 1,201명을 최종 분석하였다. 자료의 분석은 일반적 특성에 따른 혈중 엽산 차이는 Chi-square와 t- test로, 대사증후군 하부요인들간의 관계는 Pearson 상관관계, 혈중엽산농도와 대사증후군 지표는 로지스틱 회귀분석을 사용하였다. 본 연구 결과에 의하면 혈중 엽산농도와 대사증후군의 하부요인인 허리둘레(r=-0.113, p<0.05), 중성지방(r=-0.086, p<0.05)과 유의미한 음의 상관관계, HDL-cholesterol(r=0.086, p<0.05)은 유의미한 양의 상관관계를 보였 으며 회귀분석결과 HDL-cholesterol의 경우 혈중엽산농도가 정상인 군이 낮은 군에 비하여 유의미하게 높 았다(p<0.05). 따라서 본 연구를 통하여 대사증후군 예방을 위한 적절한 식습관 및 건강 교육프로그램 개 발을 제안한다.

Colon cancer has been considered a leading cause of cancer-associated death. Folic acid is a vitamin necessary for cellular physiological functions and cell viability. However, the association between folic acid intake and colon cancer has been examined in several prospective cohort studies are controversial. This study investigated the effects of folate intake on colon carcinogenesis and oxidative stress in an azoxymethane (AOM)/dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) institute for cancer research (ICR) mouse model. Thirty male ICR mice (5 weeks old) were divided into the control group and the experimental group supplied 0.03% folic acid via drinking water (50 mL/week/mouse) for 6 weeks. To induce colonic pre-neoplastic lesions, the animals were subcutaneously injected three times weekly with AOM (10 mg/kg body weight), followed by 2% DSS in drinking water for a week. Folic acid supplementation significantly suppressed the total number of aberrant crypt foci and aberrant crypts. Histological image data showed that folic acid supplementation attenuated neoplastic change. In addition, we measured the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances concentration of dry feces samples to identify the effect of folic acid on reactive oxygen accumulation. The folic acid supplementation group had reduced reactive oxygen species levels in dry feces compared to the control group. In conclusion, these findings indicate that folic acid suppresses colon carcinogenesis and oxidative stress in an AOM/DSS mouse model.

To formulate folate receptor (FR)-specific graphene-based electrochemical electrodes, a folic acid (FA) derivative attached with two pyrene molecules on the glutamate tail of FA was synthesized. The resulting pyrene-functionalized FA (FA-Py) presented the spontaneous noncovalent binding on chemically reduced graphene oxides (rGO) through an π-π interaction. Ultrathin morphology, high water-resistance, and preservation of intact FR-specific pteroates from the rGO/FA-Py assembly allow this assembly to be exploited as robust and FR-specific electrochemical electrode materials. The limits of detecting rGO/FA-Py modified electrodes were found to be as low as 3.07 nM in FR concentrations in cyclic voltammetry analysis.

The objective of this study was to examine the effect of vitamin B (pantothenic acid, folic acid, and myo-inositol) that was supplemented to embryo culture medium on in vitro development of parthenogenetically activated (PA) pig embryos. Cumulus-oocyte complexes derived from slaughtered ovaries were matured in TCM-199 supplemented with porcine follicular fluid, cysteine, pyruvate, EGF, insulin, and hormones (hCG and eCG) for the first 22 h and then further cultured in hormone-free medium for an additional 22 h. After maturation culture, metaphase II oocytes that extruded 1st polar body were electrically activated and treated with cytochalasin B for 4 h. Then, PA embryos were cultured for 7 days in a modified NCSU-23 that was supplemented with pantothenic acid, myo-inositol, or folic acid at different concentrations () according to the experimental design. Myo-inositol added to culture medium did not show any beneficial or inhibitory effects on embryo cleavage and blastocyst formation. However, pantothenic acid significantly inhibited blastocyst formation compared to control (no addition) (24% vs. 36%, p<0.05). Folic acid () significantly (p<0.05) increased blastocyst formation (56%) compared to control (41%). Our results demonstrated that in vitro development of PA embryos was significantly influenced by vitamin B and addition of folic acid to culture medium improved in vitro development of pig PA embryos.