Folate
vitamin B9; nutrient essential for DNA synthesis
Folate, also known as vitamin B9 and folacin, is one of the B vitamins. Folate is required for the body to make DNA and RNA and metabolize amino acids necessary for cell division and maturation of blood cells. As the human body cannot make folate, it is required in the diet, making it an essential nutrient. It occurs naturally in many foods. The recommended adult daily intake of folate in the U.S. is 400 micrograms from foods or dietary supplements. Manufactured folic acid, which is converted into folate by the body, is used as a dietary supplement and in food fortification as it is more stable during processing and storage.
Folate in the form of folic acid is used to treat anemia caused by folate deficiency. Folic acid is also used as a supplement by women during pregnancy to reduce the risk of neural tube defects (NTDs) in the baby. NTDs include anencephaly and spina bifida, among other defects. Low levels in early pregnancy are believed to be the cause of more than half of babies born with NTDs.
“Folate” enters the record as vitamin B9; nutrient essential for DNA synthesis. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Folate, vitamin and nutrient can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Folate” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Folate, vitamin and nutrient provides the most credible route into that argument.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 3, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q127060. The Library of Congress control number is sh85143995. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Folate”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Folate primary sources, Folate archive and Folate research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Folate”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Folate” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.