Encyclopedia

Needed for nerve function, DNA production and healthy red blood cells.

Forms enzyme helpers used in energy metabolism.

Provides building blocks for NAD and NADP, which participate in cellular energy reactions.

Supports amino-acid metabolism, neurotransmitter production and hemoglobin synthesis.

Supports DNA synthesis and one-carbon metabolism, including the pathway that processes homocysteine.

Supports collagen formation, antioxidant activity and absorption of nonheme iron.

Helps calcium absorption and bone mineralization.

Supports proteins involved in blood clotting and bone metabolism.

Supports enzymes, immune function, wound healing and taste.

ADIPOQ encodes adiponectin, a hormone released by fat tissue that participates in insulin sensitivity and fat metabolism. Its name often appears in discussions of triglycerides, body composition and metabolic health.

BCO1, also called BCMO1, helps convert beta-carotene from plant foods into retinal, a form used in vitamin A metabolism. Plant carotenoids and preformed vitamin A therefore enter the pathway at different points.

DHFR helps reduce folic acid and dihydrofolate to tetrahydrofolate-related forms used in cellular metabolism. This is one part of the folate system, distinct from MTHFR and folate transport into cells.