Folates

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A group of B-vitamin compounds essential for DNA synthesis and repair
2. nutrients involved in cellular division, particularly important during pregnancy
3. organic substances found in leafy greens and legumes that help prevent deficiencies

Etymology: "Folates" is the plural of "folate," and the singular word comes from Latin "folium," meaning "leaf." The name was given in the 1940s, after researchers found that a vitamin needed to prevent anemia was abundant in spinach and other green leaves. The "-ate" ending is standard chemical nomenclature for a salt or ester of an acid, and it reflects that the vitamin's chemical structure was related to folic acid, the synthetic form first named in 1941.