CONTENT OF INOSITOL PHOSPHATES IN SOME ENGLISH AND NIGERIAN SOILS

The mono-, di-, tri-, tetra-, penta-, and hexaphosphates of inositpl accounted for between 11·2 and 30·4 per cent of the organic P in three English and four Nigerian soils. M yoinositol hexaphosphate was the component present in greatest amount in all soils. The lower esters (mono-, di-, and triphosphates) accounted for less than 3 per cent of the organic P in all soils, with the lowest amounts in the soils from Nigeria. For the penta- and hexaphosphates the ratio of myo- plus dl- isomers to scyll oinositol varied from 2·9 to over 10, the highest ratio occurring in the soils from Nigeria. Examination of the techniques showed that they gave approximately correct estimates of the inositol phosphates. The organic P in soil which was not estimated as inositol phosphate occurred in other forms.