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Demonizing phytate

Nature Biotechnology volume 26, pages 496–497 (2008)Cite this article

To the editor:

The comments by Victor Raboy1 in his News & Views from last August's issue, and relevant publications by him and others, demand an open and thorough debate as to whether phytate (inositol hexaphosphate, IP6) should be reduced or eliminated from our food grains. I contend that the evidence that phytate exacerbates mineral deficiency in developing countries and increases eutrophication in the developed world is flimsy at best. Worse still, the arguments for phytate removal from the diet also ignore some of the molecule's health-promoting qualities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Maryland School of Medicine, Pathology 10, S. Pine Street, no. 700, Baltimore, 21201-1116, Maryland, USA

    AbulKalam M Shamsuddin

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  1. AbulKalam M Shamsuddin
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Competing interests

A.M.S. owns several patents on IP-6 and related molecules, but does not own any stock in companies that manufacture or market them.

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Shamsuddin, A. Demonizing phytate. Nat Biotechnol 26, 496–497 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0508-496b

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