Ingredient · Energy and focus at Health Royals · 7 min read
Folate is the name of a whole vitamin family. Folic acid and 5-MTHF are two different molecular forms within that family, and the difference between them is chemistry rather than marketing.
Key takeaways
• Folate is vitamin B9. It contributes to normal cell division, to normal blood formation and to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.
• Folic acid and 5-MTHF belong to the same vitamin family but are different molecules that enter folate metabolism at different points.
• Peak Performance provides 200 µg of folate as 5-MTHF from Quatrefolic®, equivalent to 100% of the EU nutrient reference value.
Folate is one of those nutrients almost everyone has heard of and very few can describe.
Part of the reason is the vocabulary. Folate, folic acid, vitamin B9 and 5-MTHF get used interchangeably, but they do not mean the same thing. One names a vitamin family, the others are molecules within it, and that distinction explains most of what is confusing about folate on a label.
Folate is a vitamin family, and the form on the label tells you which member of it you are taking.
What is folate?
Folate is the collective name for a group of related compounds that share the same vitamin activity. In everyday language the group is called vitamin B9. It is water soluble, so the body stores comparatively little and depends on a regular intake from food.
Inside the body, folate compounds work as carriers. They pick up and hand over small chemical fragments known as one carbon units, needed when cells build new genetic material and when certain amino acids are converted into one another.
That is why folate is tied to growth and renewal rather than to a single organ: any tissue producing new cells depends on the folate cycle running. Folate contributes to normal cell division and to normal blood formation.
Folate is not one molecule but a family of compounds sharing one job: moving small chemical building blocks between reactions.
What is the difference between folate and folic acid?
The difference is structural, and easier to follow with the three words separated.
Folate is the family name, covering the naturally occurring forms in food and the forms circulating in the body.
Folic acid is a synthetic, fully oxidised molecule. Before it can take part in the folate cycle it must be reduced in two steps, first to dihydrofolate and then to tetrahydrofolate, after which it is converted onwards. It is chemically stable, which is exactly why it became the standard choice for fortified flour and long shelf life supplements.
5-MTHF, short for 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, sits at the other end of that sequence. It is already reduced and already methylated, and it is the predominant folate form measured in human circulation. Chemically, it is the form that hands its methyl group to the methionine cycle.
Folic acid therefore enters the pathway near its beginning, while 5-MTHF enters where folate is normally found in the blood. European assessments recognise 5-MTHF as a bioavailable source of folate, at least comparable with folic acid at supplemental intakes when counting dietary folate equivalents.
Folate names the family, folic acid is the stable synthetic form, and 5-MTHF is the form that already circulates in the blood.
What does folate do in the body?
Folate has several authorised nutritional roles, easier to remember when grouped by the kind of work involved.
The first is building. Folate contributes to normal cell division and to normal blood formation, both of which depend on cells copying genetic material reliably.
The second is conversion. Folate contributes to normal amino acid synthesis, and the methyl group carried by 5-MTHF is used in reactions converting one amino acid into another.
The third is everyday function. Folate contributes to normal psychological function, to the normal function of the immune system and to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.
None of these are dramatic effects, and none belong to folate alone. They describe the vitamin's place in systems that need a continuous nutrient supply to work normally.
Folate is involved wherever cells are being built, renewed or converted, which is why its authorised roles cover blood, immunity, mental function and fatigue.
Which foods contain folate?
The word folate comes from folium, the Latin word for leaf, and the etymology is a useful hint.
Leafy greens such as spinach, kale and rocket are among the richest natural sources, together with legumes, asparagus, broccoli, brussels sprouts, avocado, beetroot, citrus fruit, liver, and seeds and nuts.
Folate is sensitive, though. It degrades with heat and storage, and boiled vegetables lose a substantial share to the cooking water. Steaming, shorter cooking times and a regular portion of raw or lightly cooked greens keep more of it. Many countries also fortify flour with folic acid, so part of the population's intake comes from that synthetic form rather than food folate.
Folate is abundant in leaves and legumes but easily lost to heat and cooking water, which is why intake varies more than food tables suggest.
How much folate do you need?
In the EU, the nutrient reference value for folate used on labels is 200 µg per day for adults. That figure is the benchmark any percentage on a label refers to.
Peak Performance provides 200 µg of folate per daily serving, which is 100% of the EU nutrient reference value.
The amount is deliberately nutritional rather than high dose. Research on 5-MTHF has found intakes in this range enough to improve folate status, and that doubling the amount added no proportional benefit in the measures studied. A larger number on a label is not automatically a better one.
People who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy have different requirements and should follow the Swedish Food Agency's recommendation and speak to their midwife or doctor. The same applies to anyone taking medication or managing a medical condition.
The adult EU reference value is 200 µg per day, and the formula supplies exactly that rather than an inflated multiple of it.
Why does Health Royals use 5-MTHF?
Peak Performance provides folate as 5-MTHF through Quatrefolic®, produced by Gnosis by Lesaffre. Chemically it is the glucosamine salt of (6S)-5-methyltetrahydrofolate, and two details in that name matter.
The (6S) prefix identifies the stereochemistry. Folate molecules exist as mirror image forms and only one is biologically active, so specifying (6S) means the active isomer rather than a mixture.
The glucosamine salt is a formulation choice. 5-MTHF in free acid form is unstable and poorly soluble. Bound as a glucosamine salt it becomes a defined, water soluble, more stable raw material suitable for food supplements.
The reasoning is not that folic acid does not work. It is a well established source of vitamin B9 with an important place in public health nutrition. The distinction is that Quatrefolic® supplies the form already found in circulation, from a named supplier with documented identity and quality control.
Quatrefolic® is a defined raw material: the active (6S) isomer of 5-MTHF, stabilised as a glucosamine salt.
Form
Folate as (6S)-5-MTHF
The glucosamine salt of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, the folate form predominant in human circulation.
Daily amount
200 µg folate
Equivalent to 100% of the EU nutrient reference value for adults.
Ingredient
Quatrefolic®
Produced by Gnosis by Lesaffre, with documented identity and quality control.
How folate fits into the complete formula
Folate is not included on its own. In Peak Performance it sits alongside methylcobalamin vitamin B12, thiamine, niacinamide, vitamin D3, vitamin K2, algal omega-3, olive fruit extract and selected minerals.
Folate and vitamin B12 are separate nutrients whose roles overlap. Folate contributes to normal blood formation, vitamin B12 to normal red blood cell formation, and both to normal psychological function and to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue. One does not substitute for the other, which is why both appear in defined amounts.
The question is never only whether folate is in the formula, but which form it takes, how much there is and what it sits beside.
Go deeper
- Vitamin B12, the active form for energy and balance
- Vitamin B1 and the first steps of cellular energy
- Vitamin B3 and the chemistry of everyday energy
- SOD, oxidative stress and recovery
- The biology of longevity
- Why we use capsules and not powders
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between folate and folic acid?
Folate is the family name, covering the forms found in food and in the body. Folic acid is a synthetic, fully oxidised molecule that must be reduced in two chemical steps before it can take part in the folate cycle. Its stability is why it is used in fortified foods.
What is 5-MTHF?
5-MTHF is short for 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, the folate form predominant in human circulation, already reduced and already carrying a methyl group. In Peak Performance it comes from Quatrefolic®, the glucosamine salt of the active (6S) isomer.
What does folate do in the body?
Folate contributes to normal cell division, to normal blood formation, to normal amino acid synthesis, to the normal function of the immune system, to normal psychological function and to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.
Which foods are highest in folate?
Leafy greens, legumes, asparagus, broccoli, brussels sprouts, avocado, beetroot, citrus fruit, liver, and seeds and nuts. Folate degrades with heat and storage and a share is lost to cooking water, so preparation affects the actual intake.
How much folate is in Peak Performance?
200 µg per daily serving, supplied as 5-MTHF from Quatrefolic®. That is 100% of the EU nutrient reference value for adults, a nutritional amount rather than a high dose.
References
National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. Folate: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals.
EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies. Scientific Opinion on Dietary Reference Values for folate. EFSA Journal. 2014.
EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens. Conversion of calcium-L-methylfolate and (6S)-5-methyltetrahydrofolic acid glucosamine salt into dietary folate equivalents. EFSA Journal. 2022.
Lamers, Y.; Prinz-Langenohl, R.; Moser, R.; Pietrzik, K. Supplementation with [6S]-5-methyltetrahydrofolate or folic acid equally reduces plasma total homocysteine concentrations in healthy women. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2004.
Lamers, Y.; Prinz-Langenohl, R.; Brämswig, S.; Pietrzik, K. Red blood cell folate concentrations increase more after supplementation with [6S]-5-methyltetrahydrofolate than with folic acid in women of childbearing age. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2006.
Prinz-Langenohl, R.; Brämswig, S.; Tobolski, O.; et al. [6S]-5-methyltetrahydrofolate increases plasma folate more effectively than folic acid in women with the MTHFR 677C→T polymorphism. British Journal of Pharmacology. 2009.
Pietrzik, K.; Bailey, L.; Shane, B. Folic acid and L-5-methyltetrahydrofolate: comparison of clinical pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Clinical Pharmacokinetics. 2010.
Important information
This article is general information and educational reading, not medical advice. It summarises nutrient functions, published scientific information and manufacturer provided ingredient information. Food supplements are not a substitute for a varied diet and a healthy lifestyle, and the recommended daily amount should not be exceeded. Individual needs vary. People who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy should follow national dietary guidance and speak to their midwife or doctor. Anyone taking medication or managing a medical condition should consult a qualified healthcare professional.
