Structure of "phytic acids"

Abstract

Evidence is presented to show that cereal grain phytic acid has the myoinositol hexaorthophosphate structure suggested by Anderson and not the hydrated myoinositol tripyrophosphate structure proposed by Neuberg. DL-Myoinositol 1,6:2,3:4,5-tripyrophosphate which is structurally related to the Neuberg formulation has been prepared. The "phytic acid" fraction from chicken blood has been shown to be predominantly 1,3,4,5,6-myoinositol pentaphosphate. The structures assigned to these compounds have been confirmed by 31P nuclear magnetic resonance.