The effect of race and supplementation on maternal and umbilical cord plasma folates

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis that race and supplementation affect the concentration and correlation of various folate species in maternal and umbilical cord blood. Methods: This is a single-center, prospective, cross-sectional cohort of cord blood samples obtained from 40 uncomplicated term pregnancies as a pilot study, following a protocol approved by the Institutional Review Board. High performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry quantitated the following concentrations in extracted plasma samples: 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5MTHF), 5,10-methenyl-tetrahydrofolate (5,10-MeTHF), tetrahydrofolate (THF), and unmetabolized folic acid. Results: Folate concentrations in the umbilical cord plasma were consistently higher than maternal samples for 5MTHF (p