The Availability of the Phosphorus in Unifine Flour for the Chick

Abstract

CEREAL grains contain considerable amounts of phosphorus, mostly in the form of phytic acid or phytin. In wheat, phytin phosphorus is present mainly in the germ and bran, while the endosperm contains relatively small amounts (Pringle and Moran, 1942).It has been found that phytin phosphorus is available for the rat in the presence of sufficient vitamin D (Boutwell et al., 1946; Krieger et al., 1940). However, most investigators have shown that phytin phosphorus is not utilized completely by the chick. Lowe, Steenbock and Krieger (1939) concluded that phytin phosphorus with a sub-optimum amount of vitamin D did not meet the phosphorus requirement of the chick. McGinnis, Norris and Heuser (1944) showed that the phosphorus in cereals and legumes was not available even with a sufficient amount of vitamin D added. Gillis, Norris and Heuser (1949) also found that the chick did not efficiently utilize phytin phosphorus and that vitamin .