Over supplementation of folic acid reduces survival 24 hours after hypoxia in male and female Drosophila melanogaster

Hypoxia is a major component of ischemic stroke. Nutrition has been established as a modifiable risk factor for ischemic stroke. Over-supplementation of folic acid (FA) has become an increasing problem in the U.S and other countries as more people are consuming at or above the recommended daily amount of FA. The impact of over-supplementation of FA on hypoxia is not well understood. This study aimed to investigate how FA over-supplementation impacts hypoxia outcomes using Drosophila melanogaster as a model. Adult w ¹¹¹⁸ Drosophila melanogaster were placed on control and 100 µM folic acid supplemented diets (FASD). Progeny 5 to 6 days old were exposed to hypoxia for two hours prior to returning to normoxic conditions to model reperfusion. Using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, elevated FA levels were observed in FASD flies. Escape behavior was also demonstrated in hypoxia larvae, and increased hypoxia-induced mortality was exacerbated in FASD flies; however, diet did not influence hypoxia-medicated reductions in climbing motivation and ability. Data obtained suggests that hypoxia has a negative effect on survival and climbing behavior in the flies, and that FA over-supplementation has selected negative health outcomes after hypoxia.