Quatrefolic

The terms ‘folate’ and ‘folic acid’, also known as vitamin B9, are often used synonymously and all refer to a water-soluble group of B vitamins.
In reality, however, there are differences between the different formulations:

The mechanism of action of Quatrefolic® is based on the action of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, the active ingredient of the patented active substance.

5-Methyltetrahydrofolate is formed from tetrahydrofolic acid as a result of a series of metabolic processes.
Tetrahydrofolic acid functions as a coenzyme in a number of vital metabolic processes involved in the transport of acceptors and donors of various mono-atomic fragments involved in the biosynthesis of purine and pyrimidine nucleodites, as well as in the metabolism of some important amino acids.

Folate coenzymes, in cooperation with vitamin B12, allow the conversion of an amino acid called homocysteine into methionine.
This lack of conversion has been linked to a number of disorders and diseases.

The conversion of tetrahydrofolic acid to 5-methyltetrahydrofolate is regulated by an enzyme called methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase.
Patients who have a genetic mutation that causes the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) enzyme to malfunction and reduces the rate of conversion regulated by the enzyme are more likely to develop certain diseases and disorders.

Supplementation with 5-methyltetrahydrofolate is more effective than folic acid because it is readily bioavailable and reacts with homocysteine, thus helping to prevent the development of a disorder called hyperhomocysteinemia.

The main components of the folate biochemical cycle.
Abbreviations: DHFR = dihydrofolate reductase; MTHFR = methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase.

Pathway 1 – Biosynthesis of nucleotides incorporated into DNA and RNA;
2.
Pathway 2 – Remethylation and conversion of homocysteine to methionine (vitamin B12 acts as a coenzyme in the reaction);
3 – Methylation of substrates such as DNA, RNA, phospholipids and proteins;
4 – MTHFR catalyses the formation of 5-methylfolate, which is required for methylation reactions;
5 – Dihydrofolate reductase enzyme.

Quatrefolic® and XaQuil™XR have won the NutraIngredients Awards 2016 in the category “Finished Product of the Year – Medical Food “*

Gnosis is proud to announce that its commitment to providing innovative solutions to global wellbeing and health challenges has been rewarded at the NutraIngredients Awards 2016: XYMOGEN XaQuil™ XR, a new finished product containing Quatrefolic®, has won the award in the MEDICAL FOOD OF THE YEAR category.

For Vitafoods, the NutraIngredients Awards 2016 honoured innovation and research in the global nutrition industry, rewarding companies and products that contribute to the wellbeing of humanity by capturing the latest nutritional needs and delivering tangible benefits.

XaQuil™XR with Quatrefolic®, the result of a fruitful collaboration between XYMOGEN and Gnosis, was awarded first prize in the Medical Food Product of the Year category.

Quatrefolic® in XaQuil™XR contains the glucosamine salt of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF), a metabolically active form of folate.

The specific and trademarked extended release profile of Quatrefolic® attempts to model what happens to the folate in the feed channel when it is introduced during feeding.

The medical food industry is gaining ground, mainly due to the ageing population, the shift towards enteral nutrition and the increasing demand for personalised medicine.
Xaquil™XR is the most bioavailable reduced folate product on the market, containing folate in the form of Quatrefolic®, an innovative, orally ingestible, extended absorption ingredient containing the glucosamine salt of 5-MTHF.

The body’s need for folate increases during periods of life when cell division is very active, such as during pregnancy.
Studies have shown that low folate intake increases the incidence of certain birth defects, in particular neonatal tube defects (NTDs), and may also cause inadequate growth of the foetus or placenta.

The period around conception and the early stages of pregnancy are very important for folate supplementation, as women often don’t even know they are pregnant.

The current view is that women’s folate levels should be kept high for at least one month before fertilisation and for the first three months of pregnancy.

Due to its content of Quatrefolic® (6S)-5-methyltetrahydrofolate, it may be particularly useful in the delivery of the nutrient-active form of folate to the body before fertilisation, during pregnancy and during breastfeeding.

New proposals suggest that women should take folate as well as oral contraceptives, as women can become pregnant during or after they stop taking the pill.

Open spina bifida and anencephaly are among the most common neural tube defects (NTDs).
Randomised controlled clinical trials have shown that folic acid supplementation before and during the first trimester of pregnancy reduced the incidence of NTDs by 72% in patients with NTDs in previous pregnancies.

US (USA) birth certificates show a 19% reduction in NTD prevalence at birth and a 23% reduction in spina bifida prevalence after the introduction of mandatory folic acid supplementation (October 1998 to December 1999), compared with NTD prevalence in the pre-folic acid supplementation period (October 1995 to December 1996) (Honein).