Comments
No items found.
X Fact
June 18, 2020
/
20 Second Read
/
Complexity Rating

How Spinach Came to Give Vitamin B9 Its Name - Folic Acid

Folate was first isolated from spinach in 1941 and the scientists who purified this new vitamin decided to name it folic acid, from the Latin word for leaf, 'folium'. In 1943, other groups of researchers made the synthetic form which is now referred to as folic acid, which gets converted to the active folate in the body. Both are also known as Vitamin B9.

Sources:
Words You May Not Know
No items found.
Who Wrote This X Fact
Jonathan Bortz MD
Bio Quick View

Jonathan’s background as a practicing diabetes specialist for 15 years and 17-year career developing nutritional prescriptive products for the pharmaceutical industry has contributed to his ability to understand nutrients, how they work and why they are important.

Over the years he has acquired broad and in-depth knowledge in minerals, essential fatty acids and other nutrients, but has special expertise in Vitamin B12 and choline metabolism. He is often asked to speak at national and international venues to articulate why B12, folate and choline are so important to gene function, brain development, liver and cardiovascular health. He applies pharmaceutical standards to nutrient science and has developed a unique ability to translate complicated concepts into simple promotional messages that resonate with practitioners and consumers. He has developed dozens of innovative nutritional products, of which many are category leaders in the US. Jonathan obtained his medical degree from the University of the Witwatersrand Medical School in South Africa and did his fellowship in Endocrinology at Washington University in St. Louis, MO.

Top Picks
Recent X Facts