Abstract
WITH reference to the above letter, we should like to point out that we showed in a recent paper on phytic acid and the rickets-producing action of cereals1, that the greater part of the calcium in a hydrochloric acid extract of oatmeal is, in fact, precipitated as phytate on bringing the solution to the neutral point, even though the total amount of calcium present is much less than equivalent to the phytic acid in the solution. Possibly the magnesium which is also present in the extract assists in the precipitation of calcium by forming an insoluble magnesium-calcium phytate instead of a soluble sodium-calcium double salt2 which may be formed under the conditions described by Yang. Unfortunately, he does not state the hydrogen ion concentration under which his observations were made.
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References
Harrison, D. C., and Mellanby, E., Biochem. J., 33, 1660 (1939).
Posternak, S., Helv. chim. Acta, 4, 150 (1921).
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HARRISON, D., MELLANBY, E. Ionization of Calcium Phytate. Nature 145, 745–746 (1940). https://doi.org/10.1038/145745b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/145745b0
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