Addition of folic acid to corn masa flour may lower the incidence of neural tube defects in Hispanic populations, whose staple diet is made of the flour.
- Folic acid intake during pregnancy prevents birth defects of the brain and spine in an unborn baby.
- The diet of Hispanic mothers does not contain sufficient amounts of folic acid.
- FDA recommends adding folic acid in corn masa flour which is used to make staple food for Mexicans to prevent neural tube defects.
Folic Acid and Pregnancy
Folic acid is a vitamin of the B-complex series. It helps the body in the production of red blood cells, and the synthesis and repair of DNA. When taken during pregnancy, it helps in the cell growth of the placenta as well the developing baby in the womb. Folic acid is also required for the proper closure of the neural tube in the unborn baby as DNA biosynthesis and methylation reactions which are required for this process are dependent on folic acid. An insufficiency of the same therefore leads to neural tube defects which manifest as anencephaly (neural tube fails to close at the head end, resulting in the absence of scalp and some part of the brain) or spina bifida (neural tube fails to close at the tail end, resulting in underdeveloped spinal cord and backbone).Many pregnancies are unplanned. Keeping this in mind, CDC recommends all women of the child-bearing age to ensure an intake of 400 mcg of folic acid daily. It may be taken through a multivitamin supplement prescribed by a doctor or through diet.
Folic acid is also known to lower the incidence of other birth defects like cleft lip, cleft palate, and defects of the heart.
In 1998, FDA recommended the addition of folic acid to enriched cereal grains (rice and flour) and enriched cereal grain products (bread and macaroni). Many of the cereal grain products now contain the whole Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) in a single serving. The rationale behind it was that cereal grains and cereal grain products are routinely consumed by the majority of the population, including pregnant women. This would ensure intake of folic acid in pregnancy. This actually resulted in a significant lowering of the incidence of birth defects in most populations.
The Need to Add Folic Acid in Corn Masa
Hispanic women are 20% more likely to give birth to babies with neural tube defects than non-Hispanic women. "Many Hispanic women don't benefit from the folic acid in cereal grain products because those products are not a mainstay of their regular diets - which often are corn masa-based," said Jonca Bull, Director of the FDA Office of Minority Health.The staple food of Mexican and Central and South American diets consists of tortillas, tacos, and tamales. These items are made up of corn masa flour which is prepared by cooking corn in alkali and then grinding it into a powder.
Though there is not much data available from other countries who have fortified corn masa flour with folic acid regarding the incidence of birth defects, yet the significant reduction in the incidence of neural tube defects in the USA after enriching cereal grains/products, it sounds rational that this step may have a similar result.
References:
- Adding Folic Acid to Corn Masa Flour May Prevent Birth Defects
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm504412.htm - Cereals that Contain 100% of the Daily Value (DV) of Folic Acid
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/folicacid/cereals.html - Coalition Petitions FDA to Fortify Corn Masa Flour With Folic Acid
http://www.marchofdimes.org/news/coalition-petitions-fda-to-fortify-corn-masa-flour-with-folic-acid.aspx - Fortification of Corn Masa Flour With Folic Acid in the United States
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3134499/