Evaluation of the significance of dietary folate from wild vegetables in Vietnam

Data on the overall dietary folate intakes among high-risk groups in poor c ountries is very limited. Vegetables are considered good sources but the ev aluation of their contribution is hampered by the lack of data on folate co ncentrations in many traditional foods. Data on the analysis of folate conc entrations in 16 wild vegetables used in the Mekong Delta and the Central H ighlands in Vietnam and an evaluation of the relative importance of differe nt foods in folate intakes of women is presented. Vegetable samples were co llected in four study villa.-es, blanched and frozen samples were transport ed to Sweden for analysis. Freeze-dried samples were analysed for total fol ate quantification using a commercial radio protein binding assay. Daily fo late intakes among women were estimated from 7-day food frequency interview s with 213 women. The folate concentration in the vegetable samples ranged from 10 to 96 mug/100 g. The mean estimated daily folate intake among the 2 13 women in the study areas was 251 mug. Vegetables contributed approximate ly one-third of the daily folate intake, of which 72% and 42%, respectively , in the two regions was from wild vegetables. A majority of the women (87% ) got some dietary folate from wild vegetables and nearly one-third had mea n daily folate intakes of >50 rhog from such hidden food sources. The evalu ation of dietary folate is complicated by data gaps in food composition tab les, the unreliability of existing food data, variations between methods us ed for folate analysis and limited understanding of the bioavailability of food folate.