• Welcome to Phoenix Rising!

    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of, and finding treatments for, complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia, long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

    To become a member, simply click the Register button at the top right.

Thorne B complex

Messages
19
Hello,

I have a question about the Thorne Basic Bcomplex. The one I have used untill now has Ca-5-methyltetrahydrofolate. I wanted to order new Thorne Basic Bcomplex, but now it says 5 MTHF (quatrefolic) on the bottle. Is this both the same ingredient, but just another name?

Thank you very much for your answers

Greetings, Jodie
 

mgk

Senior Member
Messages
155
Technically, they're not the same, but should have comparable efficacy. If you're really sensitive to the amount of folate, you may notice a difference, but really the differences are more technical than practical.

Just for completeness, here's the technical part. Ca-5-methyltetrahydrofolate or Metafolin is the calcium salt of levomefolic acid (the thing we care about), whereas Quatrefolic is the glucosamine salt. So they both contain the same substance, just bound to a different carrier.
 
Last edited:

August59

Daughters High School Graduation
Messages
1,617
Location
Upstate SC, USA
Just curious! - I thought I had read somewhere that unless "L" or "6S" in the label that it is the racemic version and contains both the "6S" (active) and the "6R" (inactive) isomers. I'm not sure if side effects or absorption issues are associated with the "6R" isomer or not.

Maybe someone can answer this???

I would be a little surprised if "Thorne" used what might be considered as a less active product though!
 

mgk

Senior Member
Messages
155
Just curious! - I thought I had read somewhere that unless "L" or "6S" in the label that it is the racemic version and contains both the "6S" (active) and the "6R" (inactive) isomers. I'm not sure if side effects or absorption issues are associated with the "6R" isomer or not.

Maybe someone can answer this???

I would be a little surprised if "Thorne" used what might be considered as a less active product though!
Thank you, you're right, I should have been more careful about that. The "L" or "6S" is crucial. I can't seem to find a picture of the old bottle, but I'm guessing it says Ca-L-5-methyltetrahydrofolate. If it's Ca-5 then some portion of it could be inactive like you said.

Quatrefolic is a brand name for "L-5-Methyltetrahydrofolic Acid, Glucosamine Salt", so if it says Quatrefolic, you're good to go. Similar thing for Metafolin.

There's a lot more information here: http://mthfr.net/l-methylfolate-methylfolate-5-mthf/2012/04/05/
 
Last edited: