Folic acid plays an essential role in cell multiplication and is critical in DNA and RNA formation, and is therefore especially important in foetal development. It is now widely accepted and established that lack of folate during the first trimester of pregnancy increases the risk of neural tube defects in the developing baby.

Folic acid in also known to play an important part in the body's regulation of homocysteine, the amino acid like compound that is implicated in the damage that occurs to the lining of blood vessel walls that can then lead to the build up of plaques.