Vegetables as a good source of folic acid and its beneficial role as a dietary supplement: a review

Folic acid is a vitamin which is soluble in water. Folate is a synthetic version of folic acid, one of the B vitamins. Some foods naturally contain folic acid. Folic acid comes in many forms, including oral supplements and fortified foods. Food folate bioavailability was estimated to be 50%, folic acid bioavailability to be 85%, and when taken as a supplement or with food is 100%. Folic acid is extracted from spinach (Spinacia oleracea), lentils (Lens culinaris), asparagus (Asparagus officinalis), chickpea (Cicer arietinum) and cauliflower (Brassica oleracea). The health benefits of different sources, chemical compositions, and nutritional composition were reviewed. The extraction methods maceration, infusion, liquid-liquid extraction, ultrasound-assisted extraction, and tri-enzyme extraction were reviewed. Purification of folic acid from plant extracts can be done using column chromatography, where components are separated. The separated components were preliminarily analyzed using FTIR for functional group analysis and UV for maximum absorbance values.