Sensitivity of various phytates to beam damage during x-ray analysis

Abstract

Phytic acid (myoinositol hexaphosphoric acid) has 12 hydrolyzable hydrogens and forms salts with a variety of cations. Phytic acid salts are stored in seeds and act as nutrient reserves of elements such as Mg, K, Ca and P. In diets heavily dependent on grains, phytates have been implicated in reducing the bioavailability of elements such as zinc and iron. The complexing properties of phytates have made these compounds useful in a number of medical and industrial procedures.Phytin reserves in seeds often are localized in electron dense spherical particles called globoid crystals located within protein bodies. The characteristics of globoid crystals remain poorly defined. Energy-dispersive x-ray analysis of individual globoid crystals from various species has shown that there is considerable variation in the relative proportions of Mg, K, Ca and P species-to-species.