Effect of zinc supplementation on circulating concentrations of homocysteine, vitamin B12, and folate in a postmenopausal population Vázquez Lorente, Héctor Herrera Quintana, Lourdes María Gamarra, Yenifer Planells Del Pozo, Elena María Menopause Zinc supplementation Folate Vitamin B12 Homocysteine This research received external funding by FIS Projects from Carlos III Health Institute, Spain. [REF. PI10/1993]. Hector Vazquez-Lorente [REF. FPU18/03655] and Lourdes Herrera-Quintana [REF. FPU18/03702] are under a FPU fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Spain. Introduction: The decrease in estrogen levels associated with menopause increases the risk of deficiencies of key micronutrients such as zinc and of disturbances in methylation cycle-related markers. The present study assesses the effect of 8-week Zn supplementation upon circulating concentrations of Hcy, B-12, and Fol levels in a population of postmenopausal women.& nbsp;Methods: Fifty-one postmenopausal women aged between 44 and 76 years took part in the study. Two randomized groups (placebo and zinc [50 mg/day]) were treated during 8 weeks. Nutrient intake was assessed based on the 72-hour recal l method. Zinc was analyzed by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Clinical-nutritional parameters were determined by enzyme immunoassay techniques.& nbsp;Results: Folate levels increased significantly (p < 0.05) in the zinc group on comparing the baseline versus follow-up values. Homocysteine decreased in the inter-group analysis (p < 0.05) after the intervention. Furthermore, higher folate (r =-0.632; p = 0.005) and vitamin B-12 (r =-0.512; p = 0.030) levels were correlated to low homocysteine levels in the zinc group after the intervention, although the zinc intervention had the same effect on B-12 levels in both groups.& nbsp;Conclusion: Zinc supplementation enhanced circulating folate and homocysteine by improving the folate values in the zinc-supplemented group and decreasing homocysteine levels inter-groups. Further studies involving larger samples and optimizing the doses and intervention period are needed to reinforce our main findings. 2022-06-07T06:24:53Z 2022-06-07T06:24:53Z 2022-02-03 journal article Héctor Vázquez-Lorente... [et al.]. Effect of zinc supplementation on circulating concentrations of homocysteine, vitamin B12, and folate in a postmenopausal population, Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology, Volume 71, 2022, 126942, ISSN 0946-672X, [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtemb.2022.126942] http://hdl.handle.net/10481/75288 10.1016/j.jtemb.2022.126942 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/ open access Atribución 3.0 España Elsevier