The next contributions to this subject were made from Schulze s. 

 laboratory. Palladin, Schulze and Winterstein, Winterstein and later 

 Posternak studied the chemical properties and composition of the sub- 

 stance. Palladin (1894) discovered that a substance containing phos- 

 phorus, calcium and magnesium, insoluble in hot but soluble in cold 

 water, could be obtained from the seed of senapis niger. The work of 

 Palladin was later confirmed and amplified by Schulze and Winterstein 

 i'1896). These authors believed that the substance in question was 

 identical with the globoid of Pfeffer. Winterstein (1897) described 

 the substance more closely and also studied its cleavage products. 

 This author was able to show that it gave inosite and phosphoric acid 

 when hydrolyzed in a sealed tube and, therefore, suggested the name 

 inosite phosphoric acid. Somewhat later Posternak took up the study 

 of this subject (1900, 1903, 1904, 1905). This author not only studied 

 the chemical nature of the product, preparing and analyzing many salts 

 as well as the free acid, but he also elaborated plans and methods for 

 the production of phytin on a commercial scale. 



During the course of a study of the effect upon the metabolism of 

 ash constituents, particularly phosphorus, inaugurated by Jordan 

 (1906), Patten and Hart (1904) showed that phytin was present in 

 wheat bran. The occurrence of the same substance in rice bran and 

 other plant material was subsequently demonstrated by Suzuki, Yoshi- 

 mura and Takaishi (1907). They also discovered that rice bran and 

 wheat bran contained an enzyme capable of hydrolyzing phytin into 

 inosite and phosphoric acid. This - enzyme they named "phytase." 



Notable contributions to the chemistry and distribution of phytin 

 were made later by Vorbrodt (1910) and particularly by Starkenstein 

 (1908, 1910, 1911). Levene (1909) also studied a preparation obtained 

 from hemp seed. Hart and Tottingham (1909) carried out extensive 

 investigations regarding the nature of the organic phosphoric acid 

 occurring in a number of grains, tubers and feeding material. They 

 concluded that phytin was present in all of them except dried alfalfa 

 and rutabagas. Rising (1909) reported the occurrence of the same sub- 

 stance in barley and other grains and in flour. 



More recent investigations of phytin or inosite phosphoric acid 

 preparations have been reported by Anderson (1912, 1914, 1915), 

 Plimmer and Page (1913), Plimmer (1913), Thompson (1915), Rather 

 (1913, 1917, 1918), Jegorow (1913, 1914, 1915), Clarke (1914, 1915), 

 Heubner (1914), Robinson and Mueller (1915) and Boutwell (1917). 

 Special reference to these and other investigations will be made below. 



DISTRIBUTION OF INOSITE PHOSPHORIC ACID IN THE 



PLANT WORLD 

 It is evident from the result of investigations mentioned above 



