Frequently Asked Questions

Folate is a general term for a water-soluble vitamin essential for human health. The name is derived from the Latin term “folium” (leaf) as the vitamin was first identified in leafy greens. Various folate compounds (folates) are contained in foods.

As the name suggests, food supplements complement our daily (nutritional) diet and should be used to remedy deficiencies caused by an unbalanced diet, illness or genetic predisposition.

Food supplements are regulated under food laws. Food and food supplements provide the nutrients to support and maintain normal body functions and may not be marketed as a medical cure.

Medicinal products are defined according to the Law on Therapeutic Products (HMG, SR 812.21) as “products of chemical or biological origin which are intended to have or are presented as having a medicinal effect on the human or animal organism, in particular in the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of diseases, injuries and handicaps”.

Manufacturing, processing, marketing, distribution, sale and monitoring of medicinal products are regulated under the Law on Therapeutic Products. These regulations are much more stringent than those pertaining to foodstuffs and are closely monitored by the health authorities (e.g. Swissmedic, US FDA). The approval for a medicinal product entails clinical studies in which its effect must be proven.

Folates ingested with food are converted in the organism into an activated form, tetrahydrofolate. As carriers of molecular structures with a carbon atom (C1 group), they are involved in many metabolic processes. For example, folates are necessary for the synthesis of purines as well as thymidylate, hence also for DNA synthesis. Because of this function, the vitamin is especially important in cell division and growth processes.

The synthetically manufactured form of the vitamin folate is called “folic acid”. Folic acid is contained in enriched foods or in food supplements or is used in medicines.