Calcium assimilation in ruminants on oxalate-rich diet

Abstract

SUMMARY1. In a ration containing paddy straw, the large amount of oxalate ingested does not act in the same way in the ruminant system as has been observed when oxalate-rich spinach is fed to rats. About 10 % of the ingested oxalic acid is recovered in the faeces, and this can be explained as arising out of pre-formed insoluble and unabsorbable calcium oxalate present in paddy straw; the remaining 90%, which is soluble potassium oxalate, does not react with the calcium of the Tation to form unabsorbable calcium oxalate.