114 Report OF THE CHEMIST OF THE 
THE NATURE OF THE PRINCIPAL PHOSPHORUS 
COMPOUND IN WHEAT BRAN.* 
A. J. Parren AND E. B. Hart. 
SUMMARY. 
1 Practicably all of the soluble phosphorus of wheat bran is of 
an organic nature. 
2 The organic compound exists in the bran itself as a mag- 
nesium-calcium-potassium salt of a phospho-organic acid. 
3 The free acid corresponds to the formula C,H,P,O, and is 
probably identical with Posternak’s anhydro-oxymethylene di- 
phosphoric acid. 
4 The alkali salts of this acid are freely soluble in water. 
The calcium and copper salts are slightly soluble while the barium 
and strontium salts are but sparingly so. © 
5 The acid and its salts seem to be of wide distribution in the 
vegetable kingdom, having already been isolated from the seeds 
of red fir, peas, beans, pumpkin, red and yellow lupine, also from 
the potato and other tubers and bulbs. 
This investigation forms part of the research on the metabolism 
of phosphorus and sulphur in the animal body conducted under 
the direction of Dr. Jordan. The physiological role of the acid 
and its salts in animal metabolism will be made the subject of 
future researches. 
INTRODUCTION. 
From the work reported in Bulletin No. 238 of this Station 
and from other work done preliminary to an investigation of the 
metabolism of phosphorus in animals, it was found that in many 
of our ordinary feeding stuffs a varying percentage of the organic 
phosphorus is directly soluble in water and in dilute hydrochloric 
* Reprint of Bulletin No. 250. 
