Abstract
Folate deficiency is associated with anemia, birth defects, cancer and neuropsychiatric disorders. The purpose of this study was to determine if a moderate folate deficiency during controlled changes in folate intake would affect chromosomal damage in lymphocytes and buccal cells. A study of nine healthy postmenopausal women volunteers (age 49–63 years) was carried out in a metabolic unit (baseline week with folate intake of 195 μg/day, five-week depletion at 56 μg/day, and gradual repletion including four weeks at 111 μg/day, 11 days at 286 μg/day and 9 days at 516 μg/day). Plasma folate, vitamin B-12, and homocysteine were measured weekly. Cytogenetic damage was assessed by scoring micronucleus (MN) frequency in lymphocytes and buccal cells three times: (1) at the beginning of the study, (2) at the end of depletion, and (3) after repletion. The MN frequency increased in binucleated lymphocytes, as well as in all lymphocytes, after depletion ( p=0.037), and later decreased following repletion ( p=0.028). Both kinetochore-positive and kinetochore-negative MN were increased after depletion ( p=0.015 and 0.028), but after repletion only the change in kinetochore-positive MN was statistically significant ( p=0.048). The main variables affecting MN were: (1) vitamin B-12 level, (2) plasma folate level, and (3) baseline frequency of MN. The MN frequency in exfoliated buccal cells was decreased after dietary supplementation of 516 μg/day folate ( p=0.010). Thus, low folate, without clinical symptoms of anemia, results in higher levels of cytogenetic damage in both the blood and oral cavity of postmenopausal women.
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