Objective: To measure folate content in cooked foods commonly consumed in Korea for evaluating its relation to folate nutriture of college students. Design: Folate content in 32 raw and cooked foods was measured by microbiological assay after trienzyme extraction. These values and the previously published values of 110 raw foods commonly consumed in Korea were used to update the currently available food tables to estimate dietary folate intake of 106 students based on a 3-day 24-h recall. The association of folate intake with blood folate and homocysteine concentrations was evaluated. Setting: Cheongju, Korea. Subjects: Healthy college students aged 18 to 27 y old (44 males and 62 females). Results: The average folate loss in 32 foods caused by cooking was 29%. The mean daily dietary folate intakes estimated with an updated database were 406 and 305 mg in males and females, respectively. About 10% of both male and female students showed low serum folate (o6.8 nmol/l). Folate intake was positively correlated with serum and erythrocyte folate concentrations in female students (r ¼ 0.27 and 0.29, respectively, Po0.05), and negatively correlated with serum homocysteine in male students (r ¼ À0.41, Po0.05). Conclusions: Mean dietary folate intake was higher than those of previous studies since the database was updated using values obtained with trienzyme extraction. Folate intake for the general population should be re-evaluated using reliable food folate values obtained with trienzyme extraction.

We investigated the vitamin D status and the effect of vitamin D supplementation in Korean breast-fed infants. The healthy term newborns were divided into 3 groups; A, formula-fed; B, breast-fed only; S, breast-fed with vitamin D supplementation. We measured serum concentrations of vitamin D (25OHD3), calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), alkaline phosphatase (AP), intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) and bone mineral density (BMD) at 6 and 12 months of age. Using questionnaires, average duration of sun-light exposure and dietary intake of vitamin D, Ca and P were obtained. At 6 and 12 months of age, 25OHD3 was significantly higher in group S than in group B (P<0.001). iPTH was significantly lower in group S than in group B at 6 months (P=0.001), but did not differ at 12 months. Regardless of vitamin D supplementation, BMD was lower in group B and S than in group A (P<0.05). Total intake of vitamin D differed among 3 groups (P<0.001, A>S>B), but total intake of Ca and P were higher in group A than in group B and S (P<0.001). In conclusion, breast-fed infants show lower vitamin D status and bone mineralization than formula-fed infants. Vitamin D supplementation (200 IU/day) in breast-fed infants increases serum 25-OH vitamin D3, but not bone mineral density.

We assessed folate nutritional status from birth to 12 months in fifty-one infants who were fed human milk (HM; n 20), casein-based formula (CBF; n 12) or soya-based formula (SBF; n 19). Folate contents in ninety-five HM samples obtained from twenty mothers for the first 6-month period and twelve CBF and nineteen SBF samples were measured by bioassay after trienzyme extraction. Folate intake was estimated by weighing infants before and after feeding in the HM group and by collecting formula intake records in the formula-fed groups. After solid foods were introduced, all foods consumed were included to estimate folate intake. Serum folate and total homocysteine (tHcy) concentrations were determined at 5 and 12 months of age, and infant growth was monitored for the first 12 months. Mean HM folate contents ranged from 201 to 365 nmol/l with an overall mean of 291 nmol/l, and the contents peaked at 2 months postpartum. HM folate contents were higher than those reported in North America. Folate contents in CBF and SBF were markedly higher than those in HM and those claimed on the product labels. The overall folate intakes in formula-fed infants were significantly higher than those in HM-fed infants, and this was associated with significantly higher folate and lower tHcy in formula-fed infants than HM-fed infants at 5 months. At 12 months, serum folate was significantly higher in the SBF group than the other groups, whereas serum tHcy and overall growth were similar among all groups.Folate: Human milk: Casein-based formula: Soya-based formula

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