Dihydrofolic acid
Encyclopedia
Dihydrofolic acid is a folic acid
Folic acid
Folic acid and folate , as well as pteroyl-L-glutamic acid, pteroyl-L-glutamate, and pteroylmonoglutamic acid are forms of the water-soluble vitamin B9...

 derivative acted upon by dihydrofolate reductase
Dihydrofolate reductase
- Function :Dihydrofolate reductase converts dihydrofolate into tetrahydrofolate, a methyl group shuttle required for the de novo synthesis of purines, thymidylic acid, and certain amino acids...

 to produce tetrahydrofolic acid
Tetrahydrofolic acid
Tetrahydrofolic acid, or tetrahydrofolate, is a folic acid derivative.-Metabolism:-Human synthesis:It is produced from dihydrofolic acid by dihydrofolate reductase...

. Since tetrahydrofolate is needed to make both purine
Purine
A purine is a heterocyclic aromatic organic compound, consisting of a pyrimidine ring fused to an imidazole ring. Purines, including substituted purines and their tautomers, are the most widely distributed kind of nitrogen-containing heterocycle in nature....

s and pyrimidines, dihydrofolate reductase is targeted by various drugs to prevent nucleic acid synthesis. Dihydrofolic acid is also known by the name dihydrofolate - more commonly vitamin B9.
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