Availability of Phytic Acid Phosphorus for Chick

THE major portion of the phosphorus contained in cereals, cereal byproducts, soybeans, and other plant materials is in the form of phytic acid and its salts. Lowe et al. (1939) and Gillis et al. (1949) reported this phosphorus to be completely unavailable to the chick, while Heuser et al. (1943) and McGinnis et al. (1944) suggested limited availability of phosphorus from these sources. Vandepopuliere et al. (1961) recently reported that plant source phosphorus was readily available to support growth in chicks when fed at a Ca:Pratio of 1:1, however, it did not permit increased bone ash as did dicalcium phosphate when the Ca:P ratio was narrowed from 4:1 to 1:1. Since the rat has been reported to make effective use of phytic acid when supplied with adequate vitamin D3 (Krieger et al., 1940; and Spitzer et al., 1948), tests were conducted to determine whether phosphorus from this source is available …