Abstract
THE addition of various substances, such as amino-acids, has a temporary inhibitory effect on the formation of lactic acid in slurries made from minced grass and water1. Among the substances tested in this connexion was potassium nitrate, and it was found, in preliminary tests, that the inhibition was due to the partial formation of nitrite from the nitrate, the former then being decomposed to nitric oxide. The reaction nitrate → nitrite only inhibits the formation of lactic acid temporarily, and when the lactic fermentation reaches a reasonable level, as measured by the fall in pH of the mixtures, the second reaction nitrite → nitric oxide takes place.
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BARNETT, A. Decomposition of Nitrate in Mixtures of Minced Grass and Water. Nature 169, 459 (1952). https://doi.org/10.1038/169459a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/169459a0
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