In rabbit jejunal, but not ileal brush border membrane vesicles, an outwardly directed OH- gradient (pH 7.7 inside, pH 5.5 outside) markedly stimulated the initial velocity of folate (0.1 microM) uptake compared with uptake in the absence of a pH gradient. Under pH gradient conditions, folate was transiently accumulated at a concentration four times that found at equilibrium (over-shoot), implying uphill transport of the vitamin. Equilibrium folate uptake was inversely proportional to medium osmolality, suggesting uptake into an osmotically sensitive space. pH gradient-stimulated folate uptake was markedly reduced by inhibitors of anion exchange (4,4'-diisothiocyano-2,2'-disulfonic acid stilbene; 4-acetamido-4-isothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid; furosemide), and was saturable (folate Km = 0.19 +/- 0.02 microM; Vmax = 12.8 +/- 0.4 pmol X mg protein-1 X min-1). Imposition of an inside-positive electrical potential did not stimulate folate uptake, suggesting that stimulation by a pH gradient was not due to an induced electrical potential. In contrast, an inwardly directed Na+ or K+ gradient did not stimulate folate uptake. These findings provide evidence for a carrier on the jejunal brush border membrane that mediates folate/OH- exchange (or H+/folate co-transport), and are consonant with the known presence of an outwardly directed OH- gradient in vivo (brush border acid microclimate), an acidic pH optimum for intestinal folate uptake, and the primary role of the jejunum in folate absorption.