Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-5nwft Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-09T06:14:42.646Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Absorption of calcium from a leafy vegetable rich in oxalates

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 July 2007

Urmila Pingle  and
B. V. Ramasastri
Urmila Pingle
Affiliation:
National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council of Medical Research, Hyderabad 500 007, India
B. V. Ramasastri
Affiliation:
National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council of Medical Research, Hyderabad 500 007, India
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

1. Plant foods, especially green leafy vegetables, are the cheapest and richest source of calcium in developing countries and are recommended in balanced diets. Hence it was worth while obtaining further information about the availability of Ca from these commonly-consumed green leaves.

2. The green leafy vegetable belonging to Amaranthus spp. was taken as a suitable experimental model because it is not only commonly-consumed, but is also rich in Ca and oxalates. In the first experiment, each of the eight adult male subjects was given a basal diet containing negligible Ca, a milk diet and an ‘Amaranthus’ diet, both containing the same amount of Ca. These diets were given on 3 consecutive days and the urinary Ca excreted in a 6 h period after the test diet was considered an approximate index of Ca absorbed in that period. The second experiment was designed to study the influence of Amaranthus spp. on the availability of milk Ca. Each of the ten adult male subjects were given a basal diet, a milk diet and a diet containing the same amount of milk with Amaranthus spp. added to it. Urinary Ca excreted in a period of 6 h was estimated.

3. While availability of Ca from milk was good, that from Amaranthus leaves was low. The ingestion of Amaranthus leaves together with milk adversely affected the absorption of milk Ca.

4. In view of these findings, recommendation of green leaves as a regular source of Ca to the vulnerable section of the Indian Community should be considered with caution. Since green leaves are a main source of other nutrients, especially β-carotene, their consumption cannot be discouraged and hence leaves low in oxalates should be recommended.

Type
Papers of direct relevance to Clinical and Human Nutrition
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 39 , Issue 1 , January 1978 , pp. 119 - 125
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 1978

References

Association of, Official Agricultural Chemists (1965). Official Methods of Analysis, 10th ed., p. 97,Washington, DC: Association of Official Agricultural Chemists.Google Scholar
Baker, C. J. L. (1952). Analyst, Lond. 77, 340.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baron, D. N. & Bell, J. L. (1959). J. Clin. Path. 12, 143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Basu, K. P. & Ghosh, D. (1943). Indian J. med. Res. 31, 37.Google Scholar
Bendana-Brown, A. M. & Lim, C. Y. (1957). J. Philipp. pharm. Ass. 44, 45.Google Scholar
Bonner, P., Hummel, F. C., Bates, M. F., Horton, J., Hunscher, H. A. & Macy, I. G. (1938). J. Pediat, St Louis, 12, 188.Google Scholar
Costa, D. & Taccola, E. (1943). Med. Cir. Pharm. no. 92, 619.Google Scholar
Fincke, M. L. & Sherman, H. C. (1935). J. biol. Chem. 110, 421.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Giri, K. V. (1938). Indian J. med. Res. 25, 869.Google Scholar
Gopalan, C., Balasubramanian, S. C., Ramasastri, B. V. & Visweswara Rao, K. (1969). Diet Atlas of India. Hyderabad: National Institute of Nutrition.Google Scholar
Gopalan, C. & Narasinga Rao, B. S. (1968). Dietary allowances of Indians, Spec. Rep. Indian Coun. Med. Res. Ser. no. 60, Hyderabad: Nutrition Research Laboratories.Google Scholar
Gopalan, C., Ramasastri, B. V. & Balasubramanian, S. C. (1971). Nutritive Value of Indian Foods, Hyderabad: National Institute of Nutrition.Google Scholar
Johnston, F. A., McMillan, T. J. & Falconer, G. D. (1952). J. Am. diet. Ass. 28, 933.Google Scholar
Kamal, T. H. (1960). J. agric. Fd Chem. 8, 156.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knapp, E. L. (1947). J. clin. Invest. 26, 182.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kohman, E. F. (1939). J. Nutr. 18, 233.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCance, R. A. & Widdowson, E. M. (1942). J. Physiol., Lond. 101, 350.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCance, R. A. & Widdowson, E. M. (1960). Spec. Rep. Ser. med. Res. Counc. no. 297.Google Scholar
McLaughlin, L. (1927). J. biol. Chem. 74, 455.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oke, O. L. (1969). Wld Rev. Nutr. Diet. 10, 262.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pingle, U. (1975). Plant Foods for Man. 1, 195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rau, Y. V. S. & Murthy, V. S. S. (1940). Curr. Sci. 9, 122.Google Scholar
Rau, Y. V. S. & Murthy, V. S. S. (1942). Ann. Biochem. exp. Med. 2, 87.Google Scholar
Singh, P. P. (1973). Qualitas Pl. Mater, veg. 22, 335.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Speirs, M. (1939). J. Nutr. 17, 557.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Srivastava, S. K. & Krishnan, P. S. (1959). J. scient. ind. Res. 18C, 146.Google Scholar
Sundarajan, A. R. (1938). Indian J. med. Res. 25, 685.Google Scholar
Szymendera, J., Heaney, R. P. & Saville, P. D. (1972). J. Lab. clin. Med. 79, 570.Google Scholar
Walker, A. R. P., Walker, B. F. & Wadvalla, M. (1975). Ecol. Fd Nutr. 4, 125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
WHO (1962). Tech. Rep. Ser. Wld Hlth Org. no. 230.Google Scholar