Vitamin B11 is almost always called folic acid. Together with vitamin B12, folic acid is involved with the formation of RNA and DNA, the reproductive material in all of the cells of our body. So B11 is needed for growth and tissue forming.
Folic acid is also an element of the blood plasma and red blood bodies.
Folic acid is also of importance at the formation of brains and the spinal marrow of non-born child. Therefore women who want to have children and women in the first ten weeks of the pregnancy is advised to take additional folic acid (0,5 mg a day). To lower the chance of a child with an open spinal column.
Folic means leaf. The vitamin B11 is mainly found in green vegetables. Oranges and other fruits, meat, egg yolk, potatoes and liver contain folium acid. At long heating of food, folium acid is lost. That wise it's smart to not heat vegetables for to long.
A real shortage of vitamin B11 expresses itself in anaemia (Different from anaemia caused by a shortage of iron). Except tiredness and a lack of appetite, there are some changes to, for example the mucous membranes, for example in the small intestine.