Webinar preview: How Gnosis by Lesaffre’s folate ingredient can enhance women’s health across their lifespan

06 Nov 2023 --- As a precursor to Gnosis by Lesaffre’s webinar “Healthy women: the effectiveness of active folate supplementation,” Nutrition Insight chats with Lorena Carboni, their senior scientific communication specialist, product manager, for the inside story about this supplement’s capabilities.

“Quatrefolic is a dietary ingredient designed to act as a nutrient in all areas where folic acid supplementation has been recommended and allowed,” Carboni explains. “The terms ‘folic acid’ and ‘folate’ are often used interchangeably for the water-soluble B-complex vitamin, essential for maintaining cellular functions and health.”

“Quatrefolic is the glucosamine salt of (6S)-5-methyltetrahydrofolate and is structurally analogous to the reduced and active form of folic acid. It represents the fourth-generation folate compared to 5-methyltetrahydrofolate calcium salt, guaranteeing an improved bioavailability.”

The latest delivery format innovation of the nutrient is a fine powder, the versatile form of folate, which is ideal for further formulation. The powder allows for the manufacturing of complex soft gel — mixing different vitamins and ingredients and oral spray. Liquid suspension form improves the customer’s experience and broadens the product range.

For every stage of life
Folate can benefit every stage of a woman’s life — it is essential for infant and child development, while adequate amounts are needed to support them through fertility and pregnancy. Folate also helps to keep cardiovascular health and aging complications such as menopause and cognitive function.

“The mechanism of action of Quatrefolic is related to the action of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, the active part of the proprietary ingredient. 5-methyltetrahydrofolate is derived from tetrahydrofolic acid through a series of metabolic reactions,” notes Carboni.

Tetrahydrofolic acid acts as a coenzyme in several vital metabolic reactions, participating in the transfer as acceptors and donors of various one-carbon fragments, involved in the biosynthesis of nucleotides purines and pyrimidines and the metabolism of several critical amino acids.

“In concert with vitamin B12, folate coenzymes allow the conversion of amino acid homocysteine into methionine. The lack of this conversion has been associated with various pathologies and diseases,” she says.5-methyltetrahydrofolate is the primary mechanism of action in Quatrefolic, making it more bioavailable than standard folate.  

“Folate-dependent one-carbon metabolism and the role of nutritional compounds in regulating biochemical pathways in our bodies are the focus of recent and future investigative research.” 

Often referred to as the Methylation Cycle, this critical process is a network of interrelated biochemical reactions that involves transferring one carbon methyl group from one compound to another. Folate and methionine are the key components of the cycle and are required for normal healthy cellular function.” 

This process occurs in all cells of the body, and it is crucial for a variety of functions, maintaining and regulating genes, balancing mood and controlling inflammation. Maintaining the balance and levels of folate, vitamin B12 and S-Adenosylmethionine (SAM-e) is critical to support various cellular processes that influence the development, inhibition and therapy of different disease states. 

Reaching higher solubility
Quatrefolic is amorphous because the chemical status offers higher solubility and guarantees a homogeneous and reproducible solubilization process. The crystalline alternative salt does not provide these possibilities. 

“The rationale of the R&D groups was to find a basic, natural, safe, high-soluble molecule to be used as a counter-ion of the biologically active part of the molecule, the 5-MTHF. The multidisciplinary research team at Gnosis screened more than 100 molecules that could improve the solubility in water and chose glucosamine salt for its performance — 100 times more soluble than calcium salt,” says Carboni. 

“This is because glucosamine is a natural compound endogenously formed throughout the human body by cellular glucose metabolism and found in almost all human tissues.”

The chemical characteristics of the calcium salt within Quatrefolic and the marketer’s desire to have an improved folate alternative to create finished products with greater chemical stability and improved solubility have been thoroughly reviewed scientifically. 

“The new salt, combining the intrinsic solubility of the amorphous status, the high water solubility of glucosamine salt, as well as the homogeneous and reproducible solubility process, allows the folate to be better absorbed by mucosal cells, which could facilitate access to the blood and circulation, improving bioavailability,” Carboni explains.

The stability and high level of solubility allow the compound with vitamins, minerals, botanical extracts, and oligo-elements to saturated or unsaturated fatty acids, probiotics, and active ingredients such as SAM-e and melatonin to be combined.

Latest research outcomes
Quatrefolic has undergone numerous pre-clinical and clinical trials. Most recently, the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health published a study showing that infertile women undergoing Assisted Reproductive Technologies who were supplemented with vitamin B complex, including Quatrefolic, had a higher chance of clinical pregnancy and live birth than those supplementing with folic acid alone.

Quatrefolic has health benefits for every stage of women’s lives.

“Humans need to maintain an adequate dietary intake of folate during various stages of their lives. Folate plays an essential role in cell division and DNA synthesis and is involved in periods of rapid growth and development, such as pregnancy and infancy,” Carbon continues. 

Folate is particularly important to help develop the baby’s skull and spinal cord. Low levels of the vitamin, before and during pregnancy, can lead to severe congenital disabilities called neural tube defects.

“Folate also contributes to many other functions in the mother’s body. For example, it works with vitamin B12 to create our genetic material (DNA), form healthy red blood cells and support the normal functioning of our brain and nervous system,” she says. 

Both vitamins, alongside vitamin B6, also collaborate in breaking down homocysteine, an amino acid that can put us at a higher risk of compromised cardiovascular health when present in high amounts.

Folate can also serve as an effective alternative to hormone replacement therapy against hot flashes in women experiencing perimenopause and menopause. A clinical study of folic acid therapy on menopausal hot flashes found a 65% improvement in hot flashes in otherwise healthy menopausal women taking folic acid, compared to a 16% improvement in symptoms in women given a placebo.

“Folate deficiency has been implicated in the etiology of various disorders, including anemia, where the red blood cells are larger than normal. Quatrefolic can restore the right folate level and could be key in guaranteeing hemoglobin production and oxygen transport within the body,” Carboni concludes. 

By Inga de Jong