Insoluble Oxalate Research Articles

Untersuchungen zum Ionenhaushalt von Salicornia europaea L. unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des Oxalats in Abhängigkeit von der Substratsalinität

Summary Dry matter production of Salicornia is correlated directly to NaCl-concentration of the nutrient solution. In Salicornia there could be demonstrated a clear antagonism between Na+ and K+, as well as between Na+ and alkaline earths; while Na+ is accumulated proportionally with increasing NaCl- concentration, K+-, Ca2 +- and Mg2 +-content of the plants is reduced. Less than 10% of the total Ca2 +-content is water soluble. In the water extract the ratio of Ca2 + to Mg2 + is 0.05, in the hydrochloric acid extract the ratio is 0.6. Whereas the accumulation of Cl−-ions by Salicornia corresponds to the salt supply, there is no significant NaCl-effect on nitrate-absorption. Plants growing in a salt-free medium contain less phosphate than those cultivated in a saline solution. Salicornia shows the highest oxalate content when grown without NaCl. Increasing NaCl-concentration up to 50 mM reduces the oxalat content to about 80%; however higher NaCl-levels than 50 mM do not effect the oxalate content further. The soluble and insoluble fraction of the oxalate exhibit an inverse relation; at higher NaCl-concentrations the soluble oxalate increases and the insoluble oxalate decreases. The oxalic acid seems to be involved in the ion balance in Salicornia; by cultivating the plants without or with only small amounts of NaCl (10 mM) the oxalic acid may precipitate the alkaline earths absorbed in excess, which are possible toxic to Salicornia. In addition at high NaCl-levels this organic acid may neutralize abundant Na+-ions.

Failure of Renal Transplantation in Primary Oxalosisn

Severe renal insufficiency developed in a young man ill for many years with primary oxalosis. We felt that a renal transplant might reverse the enzymatic deficiency of glyoxylate transamination and prevent the deposition of oxalate crystals in the kidney. However, the transplant did not help, and the patient died with evidence of deposits of oxalate in the transplanted kidney and throughout his tissues. We believe that transplants should not be performed in primary oxalosis, but methods should be developed where glyoxylate would be converted to glycine instead of insoluble oxalate. Report of a Case.— A 22-year-old white man entered the Stanford University Medical Center because of renal failure and for a possible kidney transplant. When the patient was 3 years old, oxalate nephrolithiasis developed with removal of a right ureteral calculus. Since then, many renal calculi and pyelonephritis developed. In October 1967, he experienced extreme weakness and dyspnea, had a

Effect of blanching on mineral and oxalate content of spinach

Summary. Unblanched and blanched spinach were sampled from a factory line with conventional water blanchers. the samples were analysed for potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, nitrate and soluble and insoluble oxalate. the main results show that spinach takes up calcium from the water during blanching. This increase in calcium content of the spinach has a direct influence on the ratio between the soluble and insoluble form of oxalate. Loss of nitrate is higher than that of the other water soluble constituents.In a small trial, an attempt was made to increase the nutritional value of spinach by precipitation of all soluble oxalate through addition of excess of calcium chloride to processed, chopped spinach. However, a taste panel rated the enriched sample as inferior owing to its colour. A small blanching trial with tap, distilled and softened water showed that the amount of calcium in tap water has no such undesirable effect on colour.

Dieffenbachia Toxicity

<h3>To the Editor:—</h3> Several articles and communications have appeared inThe Journalconcerning poisoning by plants of the genus<i>Dieffenbachia</i>and their probable toxic constituents. Drach and Maloney¹and Dore²implied that toxicity was due to insoluble and/or soluble oxalates or glycosidal principles. Pohl^3,4suggested a protein as surmised from work by Rizzinni.⁵From investigations in our laboratory, I would like to report for the first time the toxic principles of plants of this genus and the mechanism by which we believe they exert their activity. Toxicity is due to both an insoluble oxalate, calcium oxalate raphides (bundles of long slender needles), and to a proteolytic enzyme which we have designated "dumbain." In several species,<i>D exotic</i>and<i>D bausii</i>, an additional third toxic principle was found: a cyanogenetic glycoside which on hydrolysis yields hydrocyanic acid. <i>Dieffenbachia picta, D seguine</i>, and<i>D amoena</i>contain the free

Some Effects of Rare Earth Elements and Yttrium on Microbial Growth

SUMMARYEvidence supplied by growth responses on gradient plates indicates that yttrium and the rare earth elements are generally toxic to microbial growth. Bacteria are more sensitive to these elements than the fungi. Some species of the fungi are much more sensitive to these metals than other species.Colonies of Aspergillus niger (and three other fungi) produce oxalic acid which combines with the rare earth elements and yttrium to form insoluble oxalates, resulting in an important detoxification mechanism permitting further growth.Many hyphae of filamentous fungi develop abnormal morphological appearance in the presence of yttrium or rare earth elements. These changes include multiple terminal branching, swelling, lateral branching, and the rupture of hyphal strands by a process similar to plasmoptysis. These elements also inhibit the production of asexual spores.A ranking in descending order of the relative toxicity of individual rare earth elements and yttrium to growth of four filamentous fungi on gradient plates generally follows the order of decreasing atomic number and increasing atomic radius.

Soluble oxalates, ascorbic and other constituents of rhubarb varieties

Abstract(1) The petioles of ten commercial lines of rhubarb have been analysed for dry matter. ascorbic acid, titratable acidity, soluble and insoluble oxalate and soluble carbohydrate at three times during the 1958–59 harvest season.(2) Strong varietal characteristics were noted for acidity, oxalates and soluble carbohydrates.(3) Acidity and oxalate content were strongly influenced by the harvest date.(4) Ascorbic acid content while influenced by variety did not behave consistently with respect to harvest date.(5) The distribution of acid function with maturity and senescence is discussed and merit evaluations on the varieties attempted.

Determination of Serum Calcium by Means of Sodium Alizarinsulfonate

Abstract A direct method is described for the determination of serum calcium, in which reaction with sodium alizarin sulfonate takes place under optimal conditions to produce a colored complex of calcium, the absorbance of which is read at 550 mµ. One variation in procedure, in which prior isolation of the calcium as the insoluble oxalate is made, is also described.

Calcium uptake in glycerol-extracted rabbit psoas muscle fibers. II. Electron microscopic localization of uptake sites.

AbstractAn effort has been made to ascertain the site of calcium uptake in rabbit psoas muscle by electron microscopy. Following a brief glycerol extraction, small groups of fibers were exposed in a suitable electrolyte environment to calcium and ATP. Conditions were such that calcium was accumulated as an insoluble oxalate salt. Conventional preparatory procedures for electron microscopy were modified so that the calcium oxalate deposits were retained in situ in ultrathin sections. These were found localized in the longitudinal component of the sarcoplasmic reticulum including the terminal dilatations which form the outer elements of the triads. The possible participation of the intermediate element of the triad in the uptake of calcium could not be determined. The results are regarded as direct evidence that the sarcoplasmic reticulum is intimately concerned with the uptake and release of calcium associated with the contraction‐relaxation cycle.

DIEFFENBACHIA POISONING: A CLARIFICATION.

To the Editor:— During the past few years, several communications with regard to the toxicity of Dieffenbachia plants have appeared inThe Journal 1-3 and in the popular press (Time Magazine). The communications by Drach and Maloney 2 and Dore 3 have implied that the toxicity of plants of this genus is caused by soluble or insoluble oxalates or by glycosides. Rizzini and Occhioni 4 showed that the toxicity resided in the centrifugate of the juice of the stem (not leaves), and not in the supernatant fluid. Therefore, no soluble compounds are concerned. The filtered juice of Dieffenbachia stems contains no detectable amounts of oxalates. The juice is nearly neutral (pH above 6.5) and could not contain appreciable amounts of free oxalic acid. The author was not able to detect crystals of calcium oxalate either macroscopically or microscopically in the juice after addition of solutions of calcium nitrate or calcium

The spectrochemical determination of total strontium in bone, milk and vegetation

Samples of bone ash are mixed with anhydrous copper sulphate and graphite and pelleted A d c. arc is used to excite the spectra which are then evaluated by microphotometry The effective concentration range is 50 – 350 p p. m of strontium in the ash and the coefficient of variation is 6% for single exposures at the 90 p p m level In the case of milk and vegetation, strontium and calcium are separated as insoluble oxalates and the strontium content of this fraction determined by a method similar to that used for bones, with a similar range and accuracy. An alternative flame photometric method is described for the determination of strontium in the calcium-strontium oxalate fraction, thc coefficient of variation of the whole analytical operation being 5% per determination

Studies on the oxalate contents of the leaves of certain varieties of Beta vulgaris

1. Studies were made during the 1951 and 1952 seasons of the oxalate contents of the leaves of mangolds, sugar mangolds and fodder sugar beet.2. In all varieties greater concentrations of total oxalates were found during the summer months, the amounts diminishing gradually as the season advanced. Up to 12% was found in the dry-matter of mangold leaves and 9% in fodder sugar-beet leaves in July, these levels falling to 3% by mid-winter. There is some evidence that these changes are due in part to loss of outer leaves.3. Roughly one-third of the oxalates are present in water-soluble form. The addition of 1 part of chalk to 1000 parts of leaves, as has been generally recommended, is theoretically sufficient to render unavailable the soluble oxalates present during winter, but insufficient for leaves fed earlier hi the season.4. A number of observations showed small reductions in the soluble oxalate contents of the leaves due to wilting, but there were exceptions to this, and these appear to be related to sampling periods rather than to varieties.5. Insoluble oxalates appear to be unaffected by wilting and may show apparent increases in amount due to respiration losses of labile leaf constituents. The insoluble/soluble oxalate ratio is thus changed by wilting.6. It is suggested that the undesirable effects sometimes resulting from the feeding of beet leaves to livestock may not be due to oxalates, but that other factors present, which are labile during wilting, may be involved.